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Tag Archives: fossil fuels
Our energy hunger is tethered to our economic past
Our energy hunger is tethered to our economic past Civilization may need to “forget the flame” to reduce CO2 emissions. Just as a living organism continually needs food to maintain itself, an economy consumes energy to do work and keep things going. That consumption comes with the cost of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, […]
Why Just Stop Oil will win
Why Just Stop Oil will win Just Stop Oil are the latest in a long line of single-issue campaign groups to take an Underpants Gnomes approach to politics. Phase one, apparently, is to have a load of upper-class white kids make a nuisance of themselves by throwing orange paint at things. Phase three is the UK ending its […]
Exxon CEO Warns Overemphasis On Renewables Could Backfire
Exxon CEO Warns Overemphasis On Renewables Could Backfire Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) CEO Darren Woods has urged companies to stop focusing on certain energy sources, such as renewable energy, to save the climate, warning that it would be a “huge mistake to be picking winners and losers and focusing on specific technologies”. Instead, “we need to look more […]
Does Renewable Energy Have a Higher EROI Than Fossil Fuels?
DOES RENEWABLE ENERGY HAVE A HIGHER EROI THAN FOSSIL FUELS? There is new momentum behind the idea that renewable energy has a higher energy return on investment (EROI) than fossil fuels. That contrasts with decades of consensus that the EROI of oil, for example, ranges from 18 to 35 while the range for solar is from 6 […]
MIT Study: Nuclear Power Shutdown Could Lead To Increased Deaths
MIT Study: Nuclear Power Shutdown Could Lead To Increased Deaths A new MIT study indicates that retiring U.S. nuclear power plants could lead to an increase in burning fossil fuels to fill the energy gap, resulting in over 5,000 premature deaths due to increased air pollution. Nearly 20 percent of current electricity in the U.S. […]
A realistic ‘energy transition’ is to get better at using less of it
A realistic ‘energy transition’ is to get better at using less of it Image via Shutterstock. In 2022, I authored two articles expressing doubts about society’s transition from fossil fuels to renewable solar and wind power. In this final article in the series, I’ll explain why my conclusions are based on experience as well as analysis. My […]
The great energy descent – Part 1: Can renewables replace fossil fuels?
The great energy descent – Part 1: Can renewables replace fossil fuels? In summary, fossil fuels, as finite resources, will peak and decline in the next decades. However, they are extremely difficult to replace, so it’s unlikely that alternatives can replace them at the scale required. You can check the short version of the post. This […]
Sunshine Might Be Free But Solar Power is Not Cheap
Sunshine Might Be Free But Solar Power is Not Cheap Mississippi residents are consistently told that renewable energy sources, like solar panels, are now the lowest-cost ways to generate electricity, but these claims are based on creative accounting gimmicks that only examine a small portion of the expenses incurred to integrate solar onto the grid […]
These Are North America’s Biggest Sources Of Electricity By State And Province
These Are North America’s Biggest Sources Of Electricity By State And Province On a national scale, the United States and Canada rely on a very different makeup of sources to generate their electricity. The U.S. primarily uses natural gas, coal, and nuclear power, while Canada relies on both hydro and nuclear. That said, when zooming […]
Europe Is Being Deindustrialized With a Purpose
Europe Is Being Deindustrialized With a Purpose Photo by Felix Mittermeier on Unsplash The sun is shining, birds are singing and natural gas demand destruction goes on unabated in the EU. One might ask here: why have TTF gas prices fallen below 70 Eur/MWh (1) actually to even lower levels than in Asia? Mainstream media tries to spin the story that […]
Renewables Are Slowly Approaching Diminishing Returns
Renewables Are Slowly Approaching Diminishing Returns Photo by Ryan Grice on Unsplash Once a source of hope for maintaining our modern lifestyle, renewables are close to hit diminishing returns (i.e.: providing less and less benefit to society with every addition of a new solar panel or wind turbine). For the record: fossil fuels have long passed the same […]
Energy requirements and carbon emissions for a low-carbon energy transition
Energy requirements and carbon emissions for a low-carbon energy transition Abstract Achieving the Paris Agreement will require massive deployment of low-carbon energy. However, constructing, operating, and maintaining a low-carbon energy system will itself require energy, with much of it derived from fossil fuels. This raises the concern that the transition may consume much of the […]
2022 — A Year-End Contemplation
2022 — A Year-End Contemplation Another year has passed (almost), yet the world didn’t collapse. We have got close to nuclear annihilation — probably closer than we’ve ever had — yet we are still here. The long decline of our High-Tech civilization in general, and the Western empire in particular works on different timescales than […]
The Simple Story of Civilization
The Simple Story of Civilization The stories we fashion about ourselves are heavily influenced by our short life spans during an age of unprecedented complexity. We humans, it would seem, are unfathomably complicated creatures who defy simple “just-so” characterizations. Animals, or humans tens of thousands of years ago are fair game for simple stories, but […]
The economy is moving from a tailwind pushing it along to a headwind holding it back
The economy is moving from a tailwind pushing it along to a headwind holding it back The problem is hitting limits in the extraction of fossil fuels We know that historically, many economies around the world have collapsed. We also know that there is a physics reason why this happens. Growing economies require a growing supply of […]
