Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

Thanks for the link. I think I've read that site before. I see peak oil and the environment as being intertwined. Our burning of fossil fuels has changed the climate. We've pumped a lot of greenhouses gases into the atmosphere when you consider that the great oil fields of the world, such as Ghawar and Burgan, were discovered in the early 20th century and are now close to or psat their production peaks. In the span of 60 years we've managed to burn up the world's oil supply.

Another thing to consider is what effect oil depletion will have on the environment. If oil becomes too expensive, we'll likely switch to coal and natural gas and use them up before looking for another source of energy as noted in this BBC story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6505127.stm.

If you haven't already seen these sites, they're worth bookmarking:

http://www.theoildrum.com/ Highly technical but it's written by people who are in the know.
http://www.energybulletin.net/ A clearing house for peak oil and stories on the environment.

I am often amazed that the issue is not discussed more on expat sites like this, because peak oil basically heralds the end of the expatriate dream.

For starters, this "expat site" is about Japan, so peak oil discussions aren't particularly relevant unless they're somehow related to Japan, which the original post clearly is.

I do the rounds of the peak oil sites frequently.

Second, and more important, is the begged question: "And just who are you?"
I'll always be highly suspect of someone posting anything under color of anonymity. While I'm listed by a handle, the owners of the site know who (and where) I am and I've explained and described my background and experience to fellow posters. In short, they know me and they know whether I'm speaking with authority or talking out of a certain part of my anatomy.
In your case, however, neither is clear, and I needn't waste time arguing cogently with someone 1) who may just be winding me up or 2) who's likely to vanish should I make a few coherent points in opposition.

Login, gain the trust of the posters here, and then we'll talk.

Or at least that's my view...

That's what's great about getting involved with a foreigner. You can't take it personally. What's really terrific is that when we act in ways which might objectively...seem assholish, or incredibly annoying, they don't get upset at all. They just assume it's some national characteristic. -Barcelona

Biofuels are paraded around as a solution. The problem is the solution is being driven by "big corn" - the highly-subsidized corn industry in the states which has global economic impact. At the end of the day corn is not going to make a spitwad of difference to energy requirements because overall consumption is huge and the energy conversion rates for corn are pretty low. The US could plant the entire nation with corn for use solely as bioethanol, and it only gives enough to cover a few percent of total consumption. Even if you starve the nation you still can't fix the problem. There are other options such as cane or switchgrass which have much higher ratios of power conversion, but the technology to convert switchgrass is not yet at a level to consider for production. The other great answers to oil being paraded around as an alternative energy option are natural gas and coal. Face it, the energy business is driving this and the goal for any business is to make as much money as possible. There will not be a cost-effective solution, because there is so much more money to be made with a driving crises through over-demand. Peak oil is just another way to create profit through crisis (whether it is real or imagined - it does not matter to big energy as long as there is crisis). Oh who cares. I just wanted to scream.

Hmm, burning food for energy, that makes sense, not, but anyway, let’s see how it goes.