On a flight to California last week, I read a review of two new books on the Renaissance that made me think differently about the times we live in. In Inventing the Renaissance, Ada Palmer dismisses the idea that the Renaissance was a golden age. That notion, she writes, was shaped later by admirers of a…| Art Berman
Ted Nordhaus wants us to stop talking about climate catastrophe. He calls Amazon collapse, crossing tipping points, and weather shocks exaggerations. He acknowledges that the world is headed toward 3°C of warming, but is confident that society will adapt. That is techno-optimism at its most absurd—ignoring physiology, geography, and demographics.…| Art Berman
The headlines say Donald Trump is going after India with tariffs. The deeper story is that this is not just about trade. It is about oil, the lingering grip of neoliberal ideology, the BRICS challenge to U.S. dominance — and whether Trump’s brand of economic statecraft can succeed in the face of entrenched interests at…| Art Berman
I just returned from ten days in Iceland, drawn by the geology and stark beauty. What I found was more than scenery—it was a case history in climate change, collapse, and fossil-fueled resurrection. A treeless island made marginally habitable by a warm climate window became the setting for a long…| Art Berman
Industry-leading energy consultant, petroleum geologist & keynote speaker delivering bias-free education & insights. Expert witness & consulting services.| Art Berman
The IEA opens its Electricity 2025 report by declaring we’re entering “a New Age of Electricity.” That’s nonsense. The agency has become a dishonest broker, pushing unrealistic renewable narratives. It may be time for the U.S. to reconsider its participation. A “New Age of Electricity,” if it truly existed, would involve more than just incremental growth in…| Art Berman
The greatest threat to our civilization — and to the planet — isn’t climate change, fossil fuels, or failing ecosystems. It’s the way we think. We are trapped in a reductionist mindset, always searching for a single cause, a single villain, and a single solution. This way of thinking, rooted in left-hemisphere dominance, is not…| Art Berman
OPEC’s recent decision to start adding supply back to the market has baffled most analysts — though that hasn’t stopped them from offering explanations that are just as confusing as the move itself. On the surface, it seems illogical for the group to boost supply in what appears to be…| Art Berman
The Dawn of Everything is framed as a challenge to conventional myths about human history, particularly the idea that inequality and hierarchy were inevitable outcomes of social evolution. But the evidence is weak, and the reasoning is intellectually dishonest. For something that claims to debunk myths, it spends a lot of time creating its own.…| Art Berman
Most of us don’t give much thought to the ocean, and it’s often overlooked in discussions about climate change and the environment. Yet the ocean plays a vital role in maintaining Earth’s stability and is essential for human survival. It covers 71% of the planet’s surface, holds 97% of all water, and its volume is…| Art Berman
For years, the threat of open war between Israel and Iran simmered on the margins of global attention—a shadow conflict fought through proxies, assassinations, and ideology. Now it's out in the open. Joint Israeli-American airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure have crossed a threshold. But this isn’t just a war of…| Art Berman
What if everything we’ve been taught about economics—about value, money, and growth—is fundamentally backwards? What if our projections for the future aren’t just optimistic, but delusional, because they ignore what money and debt really are and what they ultimately depend on? For the past 75 years, we’ve lived through an extraordinary anomaly: an era fueled…| Art Berman
The “deep state” isn’t real—there’s no smoky backroom of rogue bureaucrats plotting to subvert democracy. But there is a sprawling, entrenched bureaucratic apparatus that frustrates elected leaders, slows agendas, and seems impervious to change. That’s not conspiracy—it’s what happens when government scales to complexity. The “deep state” has become a cultural emblem: liberals dismiss it,…| Art Berman
Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson suggest that smart governance and innovation can solve most of society's problems in their book Abundance. Their vision emphasizes building—more housing, infrastructure, clean energy, and scientific capacity—rather than merely redistributing or regulating. The core idea is clear and optimistic: abundance is achievable and essential. They champion…| Art Berman
The failure of the climate movement isn’t just political or scientific—it’s philosophical. At its core is a reductionist mindset: isolate one culprit, pursue one goal, rally around one fix. Fossil fuels became the villain, CO₂ emissions the metric, and renewables the savior—embraced more for narrative simplicity than system reality. Missing…| Art Berman
As the liberal world order unravels, most are busy grieving its loss rather than trying to understand what’s really going on. Blame is everywhere—at leaders, at policies, at the right, and at the left. Everyone wants a fix, but few are asking deeper questions. When did we decide that our…| Art Berman
The EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2025 provides a solid baseline for understanding U.S. energy trends, but it's built on a business-as-usual framework that filters out geopolitical, financial, governance, and ecological risks. It's a conversation starter—not a roadmap. In the real world, shocks and disruptions are standard fare. The future will…| Art Berman
The digital age tempts us with infinite choice and distraction, but beneath the noise is a quieter truth: survival now depends on learning to be satisfied with the real, imperfect world right in front of us. That’s the core argument in a recent opinion column titled An Age of Extinction…| Art Berman
When people talk about the energy transition, they mean replacing fossil fuels with renewables. The real shift is using less energy. Daniel Yergin argues this isn’t a transition but an energy addition—renewables are stacking on top of still-growing fossil fuel use. Net zero isn’t happening. "The energy transition is not just about energy; it…| Art Berman
Oliver Wiseman wrote this week that the Trump team sees much of the U.S. government as beyond repair. Instead of propping up failing institutions, they’re tearing off the facade and exposing the rot. The result? A government that seems chaotic with no clear plan for what comes next. "For those…| Art Berman
Geopolitical and economic reality is overwhelming climate policies. When economies tighten, climate takes a backseat. Biden poured billions into renewables, but Trump is flipping the script—slashing EV and clean energy support in favor of fossil fuels. Germany, once the poster child for decarbonization, is shifting focus to security and migration. Billions…| Art Berman
Peak Oil was supposed to be a warning. When world production peaked, shortages, soaring prices, and economic collapse would follow. Twenty years ago, Matt Simmons made that case in Twilight in the Desert, arguing that if Saudi oil peaked, a global crisis was coming. The Peak Oil movement ran with it,…| Art Berman
One of the biggest misconceptions about oil is that supply is shrinking because of depletion and that reserve additions are not enough to prevent a supply shortage in the near future. Here are some examples from comments on my website: "I've been wondering why most people haven’t been alarmed about…| Art Berman
Explore cutting-edge energy market analysis with hard core insights that can open your eyes to what is actually happening in the energy market| Art Berman
The prevailing opinion among analysts is that a tighter market in the third quarter of 2024 will push oil prices higher as demand exceeds supply. I’m skeptical of those bullish predictions because we've seen this movie before, and it ended badly. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts Brent crude…| Art Berman
People talk about addiction to oil but we're also addicted to electric power. I'm speaking from personal experience. Hurricane Beryl left over two million people in the Houston area without power this week. No electricity means no internet, air conditioning, TV, or appliances. With the internet down, people can't get…| Art Berman
How did adoption of renewable energy become the drug of choice to treat the disease of climate change? No one knows. Wind and solar energy policies evolved over several decades without planning, leadership, effective communication, or stakeholder engagement. There was not---and is not---any vision, resource allocation, communication strategy, governance structure,…| Art Berman
The U.S. LNG industry has consistently misread supply and demand signals over the decades, from overestimating demand in the 1970s, to misjudging the effects of the shale revolution. Will it be different this time? The expansion of LNG (liquefied natural gas) infrastructure in the U.S. post-shale boom was driven by…| Art Berman
The world is in metacrisis. That means that many crises are occurring simultaneously and affecting one another. This calls for rethinking the nature of problem-solving. Root causes should be identified rather than merely treating their symptoms. Traditionally, problems have been tackled in isolation. That approach has led to the metacrisis.…| Art Berman
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has become a dishonest broker of information because of its renewable energy bias. This week, it reported that there will be a staggering oil glut by the end of the decade. "Total supply capacity is forecast to rise to nearly 114 million barrels a day…| Art Berman
Since the 2020 pandemic, many things have changed, but nothing more than geopolitics. Wars and clashes that used to be largely national have given way to more regional conflicts that threaten to upend the current world order. The Ukraine War and Israel-Iran conflicts have the potential to lead to world…| Art Berman
