North American Oil Production Is Radically Shifting Global Supply

North American oil production, dark green in the chart, has been undergoing explosive supply growth since 2010. Between the new extraction methods used in the US and continued expansion of the Alberta tar sands in Canada, the supply and extraction technology coming from North America will change the global oil market radically over the next five years. Consider the following quote from the International Energy Agency’s press release accompanying this graph:

“The supply shock created by a surge in North American oil production will be as transformative to the market over the next five years as was the rise of Chinese demand over the last 15, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual Medium-Term Oil Market Report (MTOMR) released today.”

–from Business Insider and the International Energy Agency

 

China’s Air Pollution Problems

WSJ with very concerning graphic and article about air pollution spikes in Beijing.

Temperatures Keep Rising

Latest data from US is out and no sign of lowering. Much of increases in Midwest. From Wonkblog.

Challenging Data for Global Temperatures

Data and chart from Economist makes it seem very likely that temperatures are going to increase.

World Wild Fish Catch and Farmed Fish Production

Nice overview from Earth Policy Institute of the global fish picture, including context for the wild vs. farmed perspective. Wild seems holding steady, but farmed growing dramatically. What this doesn’t show is wild fish stocks as well as the “sustainability” of farmed fish production.

Arctic Sea Ice

Concerning statistics from Earth Policy Institute about shrinking arctic sea ice.  The graph above starts at 500 AD!!!!  We don’t see too many charts like that…The other charts in the series are more current.

Average US Temperatures Rising Rapidly

Although average temperatures have been rising over the last century, the pace has increased substantially since 1970. This map shows the change in degrees Fahrenheit per decade by state.