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Tag Archives: energy skeptic
Fall of Akkadian empire due to climate change
Fall of Akkadian empire due to climate change Preface. Any civilization or region that survives energy decline must then survive climate change for many centuries. As far as the wind systems that collapsed the Akkadian empire, it’s already happening: “Greenhouse gases are increasingly disrupting the jet stream, a powerful river of winds that steers weather […]
Nuclear reactor issues
Nuclear reactor issues Preface. There are half a dozen articles below. Although safety and disposal of nuclear waste ought to be the main reasons why no more plants should be built, what will really stop them isbecause it takes years to get permits and $8.5–$20 billion in capital must be raised for a new 3400 […]
Fossil-fueled industrial heat hard to impossible to replace with renewables
Fossil-fueled industrial heat hard to impossible to replace with renewables Preface. Cement, steel, glass, bricks, ceramics, chemicals, and much more depend on fossil-fueled high heat (up to 3200 F) to make. Except for the electric-arc furnace to recycle existing steel, there aren’t any renewable ways to make cement, other metals, and other high-heat products, and […]
A nationwide blackout lasting 1 year could kill up to 90% Americans
A nationwide blackout lasting 1 year could kill up to 90% Americans Preface. What follows is the testimony of Dr. Pry at a 2015 U.S. House of Representatives session. I have cut, shortened, and rearranged the order of the 30 page original document. And hey, the truth is, the electric grid is coming down one […]
Energy Slaves: every American has somewhere between 200 and 8,000 energy slaves
Energy Slaves: every American has somewhere between 200 and 8,000 energy slaves Source: https://www.homesthatfit.com/how-precious-is-energy-ask-your-slaves/ Preface. To give you an idea of what energy slaves are, consider what it would take to use human power to provide these: How much energy does it take to toast a single slice of Bread? Olympic Cyclist Vs. Toaster: Can […]
Toxic Loans Around the World Weigh on Global Growth
Toxic Loans Around the World Weigh on Global Growth Preface. Obviously endless growth on a finite planet is impossible. Clearly the main “benefit” of debt is being able to rape and pillage the planet immediately. The accumulating debt can never be paid off, because energy is required to grow GDP (they’re locked in a death […]
Hydrogen fuel cell cars are a waste of time and money, and explosive
Hydrogen fuel cell cars are a waste of time and money, and explosive Preface. Below are several articles about hydrogen. Today in 2019 it is still far from commercial. A massive amount of infrastructure needs to be in place before people will consider buying hydrogen fuel cell cars, and because of explosions in South Korea, […]
Many signs of peak oil and decline
Many signs of peak oil and decline Preface. Recently the IEA 2018 World Energy Outlook predicted an oil crunch could happen as soon as 2023. Oil supermajors are expected to have 10 years of reserve life or more, Shell is down to just 8 years. Political shortages are as big a problem as geological depletion. At […]
After peak oil we need small family farms. But U.S. farms are getting even bigger
After peak oil we need small family farms. But U.S. farms are getting even bigger Preface. Oh dear, wrong direction! Eventually 75 to 90% of Americans will need to be farmers to feed their family and support craftsmen and others in towns, just as it always was before fossil fuels arrived. These big farms are […]
Permafrost will limit natural gas, oil, and coal extraction
Permafrost will limit natural gas, oil, and coal extraction Preface. For many people, it’s comforting to know that about 25% of remaining oil and gas reserves (we have the know-how and economics to get it) and resources (beyond our technical and monetary capability) are in the arctic. They assume we’ll get this oil and gas […]
Nuclear waste disposal drilled deep into earth’s crust
Nuclear waste disposal drilled deep into earth’s crust Preface. I suspect one the greatest tragedies of the decline of oil will be all the nuclear waste left for thousands of low-tech generations in the future. We owe it to them to clean up our mess while we still have excess oil energy to do it. […]
Himalayan glaciers that supply water to a billion people are melting fast
Himalayan glaciers that supply water to a billion people are melting fast Preface. The Himalayan glaciers that supply water to a billion people are melting fast, already 30% has been lost since 1975. Adding to the crisis are the 400 dams under construction or planned for Himalayan rivers in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bhutan to […]
Global oil discoveries far from breaking even with consumption
Global oil discoveries far from breaking even with consumption Preface. According to Bloomberg (2016), oil discoveries in 2015 were the lowest since 1947, with just 2.7 billion barrels of conventional oil found globally (though Rystad calculated this differently at 5.6, nearly twice as much). Since the world burns 36.5 billion barrels of oil a year […]
How safe are utility-scale energy storage batteries?
How safe are utility-scale energy storage batteries? Preface. Airplanes can be forced to make an emergency landing if even a small external battery pack, like the kind used to charge cell phones, catches on fire (Mogg 2019). If a small battery pack can force an airplane to land, imagine the conflagration of a utility scale […]
Microbes a key factor in climate change
Microbes a key factor in climate change Preface. The IPCC, like economists, assumes our economy and burning of fossil fuels will grow exponentially until 2100 and beyond, with no limits to growth. But conventional oil peaked and has stayed on a plateau since 2005, so clearly peak global oil production is in sight. As is […]
