74.30 MIllion Barrels per Day

According to The Oil Drum, this amount so far represents the largest averaged amount of crude oil extracted from the drilling fields in one month. Write that number down somewhere. Keep that number safe for future reference.

Why?



Because that record was set in May, 2005:

1) Crude oil - Latest available figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that crude oil production including lease condensates increased by 455,000 b/d from June to July. Total production in July was estimated at 73.28 million b/d, which is 1.01 million b/d lower than the all time high crude oil production of 74.30 million b/d reached in May 2005.

Not long ago, I introduced readers here to M. King Hubbert's concept of Peak Oil. It now looks like Hubbert colleague Kenneth Deffeyes' prediction of a late November, 2005 peak was only half a year off the mark.

There is No Court of Scientific Finding

I overheard some blowhard in the pho booth next to ours yesterday brag about a British court decision against Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. Blowhard probably heard the news on the very un-newsy KKKVI, a local knee-jerk reactionary yak station. He was all pumped up about the decision, though, as if a judge of British law somehow served as a better judge on the science of AIT than, well, scientists.

I did some digging, and sure enough, Pho Blow Boy was right. Right on the story, yes, ( but way off on the facts. )

Grrrr. . . .