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Tag Archives: Alice Friedemann
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Venezuela collapse: looting, hunger, blackouts
Venezuela collapse: looting, hunger, blackouts Preface. Venezuela is experiencing a double whammy of drought and low oil prices, which has lead to blackouts and inability to import food, ultimately due to their oil production peaking in 1997. The same fate awaits the U.S. someday when oil declines. Related posts: Nafeez Ahmed: Venezuela’s collapse is a window […]
Peak Sand
Peak Sand Preface. Sand Primer: Without sand, there would be no concrete, ceramics, computer chips, glass, plastics, abrasives, paint and so on We can’t use desert sand because it’s too round, polished by the wind, and doesn’t stick together. You need rough edges, so desert sand is worthless Good sand is getting so rare there’s […]
Boston Globe: the false promise of nuclear power
Boston Globe: the false promise of nuclear power Preface. This article raises many objections to nuclear power. Theoretically it could be cheaper, but the exact opposite has happened, it keeps getting more expensive. For example the only new reactors being built in the U.S. now are at Georgia Power’s Vogtle plant. Costs were initially estimated […]
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. […]
Carbon capture could require 25% of all global energy
Carbon capture could require 25% of all global energy Preface. This is clearly a pipedream. Surely the authors know this, since they say that the energy needed to run direct air capture machines in 2100 is up to 300 exajoules each year. That’s more than half of global energy consumption today. It’s equivalent to the current […]
Scientists on where to be in the 21st century based on sustainability
Scientists on where to be in the 21st century based on sustainability Preface. The article below is based on Hall & Day’s book “America’s Most Sustainable Cities and Regions: Surviving the 21st Century Megatrends”. Related articles: Hess, P. 2016. These will be the best places to live in America in 2100 A.D. Popular Science. Lang, G. […]
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 […]
