David Strahan – Page 19 – write first draft

What Stern really got wrong

May 16, 2007 By David Strahan1 Comment

By David Strahan. First published in Prospect, 16 May 2007 In one sense Stern’s conclusions were entirely predictable. He set out to answer the same brutally simple question posed by Dick Turpin: your money or your life. And now that climate change so clearly has a pistol at the head of our species, there could only be one answer – irrespective of cost. (more…)...

Why it isn’t over yet for Lord Browne

May 6, 2007 By David StrahanNo Comments

By David Strahan. First published in the Independent on Sunday, 6 May 2007. Is it possible that Lord Browne’s humiliation is not yet complete? It may be hard to credit in a week when he was forced to resign with immediate effect – at a personal cost of £15m – after lying in a witness statement about a lover he met through a male escort agency. (more…)...

Who’s afraid of oil depletion?

April 5, 2007 By David Strahan5 Comments

By David Strahan. First published in the Ecologist, April 2007. What is it about climate change campaigners and peak oil – the two words you almost never hear them utter? The idea that global oil production will soon go into terminal decline ought to be a godsend; it makes the kinds of things they have been lobbying for all the more urgent and compelling. Yet most of the big NGOs continue studiously to ignore the idea. (more…)...

Why running out of oil could make climate change worse

March 27, 2007 By David Strahan4 Comments

By David Strahan. Published at the BBC's Green Room, 30 March 2007. It is becoming increasingly clear that global oil production will soon go into terminal decline with potentially devastating economic consequences. Although the idea of ‘peak oil’ has traditionally been ridiculed by the industry, now even some of the world’s most senior oilmen concede the case. (more…)...

The treacherous traverse of Hubbert’s Peak

March 25, 2007 By David Strahan4 Comments

By David Strahan. Published as 'Climate Criminals' in Summit, Spring 2007. Mountaineers are a special class of climate criminal. We clearly have a particular moral duty to protect the icy landscapes we enjoy, and most of us like to think of ourselves as environmentally responsible. But the reality is rather different. (more…)...

In praise of the United States Geological Survey

March 25, 2007 By David Strahan1 Comment

By David Strahan. Published in Geoscientist, and Petroleum Review, April 2007. When it comes to estimating the scale of oil and gas resources, the United States Geological Survey has a reputation of coming up with some very large numbers. (more…)...