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Tag Archives: finite resources
What If It Breaks?
What If It Breaks? Making your entire economy a Landfill Economy dependent on the fantasy of infinite replacements and substitutions is the height of hubris and folly. Very few people ask: what if it breaks? It’s a question we can ask of a great many things: touchscreens, motherboards, tools, vehicles, supply chains and entire systems: what if it […]
When Renewables Are Not Renewable
When Renewables Are Not Renewable Sure the wind and sun are renewable, but the collectors we build are not Wind Turbines We term an energy source “renewable” when the energy provided is powered by the sun — wind and solar, or powered by gravitational forces — tidal. However, the energy collectors are not renewable. Solar […]
The value of a degrowth economy: Our planet would be richer for it
The value of a degrowth economy: Our planet would be richer for it (Cartoon by Mark David | @MDavidCartoons) Decades of economic expansion have come at the expense of developing nations and a tremendous cost to the planet. Degrowth is a healthier future option, writes Erin Remblance. THE THOUGHT of a degrowth economy can be scary. We’ve all grown […]
The Energy Transition Show: No Limits
The Energy Transition Show: No Limits Are there fundamental limits to the energy transition that will slow it down, or prevent us from decarbonizing our energy systems? Critics and skeptics of the energy transition have pointed to issues like the problems of producing key minerals, or the costs of renewable energy, or path dependency in […]
The century of the limits
The century of the limits IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING. JUST DO IT. SMASH YOUR LIMITS We know much better some slogans that sell us that everything is possible, than the laws of thermodynamics, which govern our own nature and the limits that bound it. And so it goes. This is our frame of thought and from it […]
Myth #22: Nate Hagens discredits claim “We Can Always Get More Resources If We Have More Money”
Myth #22: Nate Hagens discredits claim “We Can Always Get More Resources If We Have More Money” “We can create money, but we cannot create energy, only extract what exists — FASTER.” “We can create money, but we cannot create energy, only extract what exists — FASTER. And importantly, when money is created the interest is […]
Cramming cities full of electric vehicles means we’re still depending on cars — and that’s a huge problem
Cramming cities full of electric vehicles means we’re still depending on cars — and that’s a huge problem This week, the NSW government announced almost A$500 million towards boosting the uptake of electric vehicles. In its new electric vehicle strategy, the government will waive stamp duty for cars under $78,000, develop more charging infrastructure, offer rebates […]
How Energy Transition Models Go Wrong
How Energy Transition Models Go Wrong I have written many posts relating to the fact that we live in a finite world. At some point, our ability to extract resources becomes constrained. At the same time, population keeps increasing. The usual outcome when population is too high for resources is “overshoot and collapse.” But this […]
Clean energy minerals shortage: Who knew it could happen?
Clean energy minerals shortage: Who knew it could happen? The race for so-called green energy has spawned another race, one for the minerals needed to make the devices such as solar panels and batteries that produce, store and transmit that energy. A hitherto largely unchallenged economic idea—that we will always have supplies of everything we […]
Climate Wars: IEA Warns Governments To Stockpile Battery Metals
Climate Wars: IEA Warns Governments To Stockpile Battery Metals China’s dominance in green energy technologies are rare earth metal production is very concerning to the International Energy Agency (IEA), who posted a stark warning Wednesday advising western governments to stockpile critical battery metals such as cobalt and lithium. IEA’s warning comes as the next chapter in US-China […]
Our rapid ascent in energy and resource use has distorted our view of “normal”
Our rapid ascent in energy and resource use has distorted our view of “normal” The new reality warns we are on a collision course with Earth’s finite limits —– Tom Murphy “The delirious ascent in energy and resource use witnessed over the past few centuries has been accomplished via the rapid, accelerating expenditure of a one-time […]
The Ugly Truth About Renewable Power
The Ugly Truth About Renewable Power When Texas literally froze this February, some blamed the blackouts that left millions of Texans in the dark on the wind turbines. Others blamed them on the gas-fired power plants. The truth isn’t so politically simple. In truth, both wind turbines and gas plants froze because of the abnormal weather. And […]
Between the Devil and the Green New Deal
BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE GREEN NEW DEAL We cannot legislate and spend our way out of catastrophic global warming. From space, the Bayan Obo mine in China, where 70 percent of the world’s rare earth minerals are extracted and refined, almost looks like a painting. The paisleys of the radioactive tailings ponds, miles long, […]
Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet
Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet Where is humanity going? How realistic is a future of fusion and space colonies? What constraints are imposed by physics, by resource availability, and by human psychology? Are default expectations grounded in reality? This textbook, written for a general-education audience, aims to address these questions without either […]
Presidents Day: Carter’s Prescient Farewell Address in 1981
Presidents Day: Carter’s Prescient Farewell Address in 1981 Regardless of our opinions about President Carter and his legacy, his Farewell Address is worthy of our attention and study. On Presidents Day 2021, I invite you to read/watch President Carter’s Farewell Address from 40 years ago. As a Washington outsider, Carter was relentlessly mocked and undermined by […]
