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Tag Archives: Alice Friedemann
Peak Stainless Steel
Peak Stainless Steel This study shows that there is a significant risk that stainless steel production will reach its maximum capacity around 2055 because of declining nickel production, though recycling, and use of other alloys on a very small scale can compensate somewhat. The model in this study assumes business as usual for metal production […]
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 […]
Wood, the fuel of preindustrial societies, is half of EU renewable energy
Wood, the fuel of preindustrial societies, is half of EU renewable energy Preface: By far the largest so-called renewable fuel used in Europe is wood. In its various forms, from sticks to pellets to sawdust, wood (or to use its fashionable name, biomass) accounts for about half of Europe’s renewable-energy consumption. Although Finland is the […]
Can concentrated solar power be used to generate industrial process heat?
Can concentrated solar power be used to generate industrial process heat? This post is based on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) paper: Kurup, P., et al. 2015. Initial Investigation into the Potential of CSP Industrial Process Heat for the Southwest United States. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. *** Industries use enormous amounts of fossil fuels […]
One million plant & animal species at risk of extinction
One million plant & animal species at risk of extinction As usual, no mention of birth control or carrying capacity. Plumer, B. 2019. Humans Are Speeding Extinction and Altering the Natural World at an ‘Unprecedented’ Pace. New York Times. Extinction rates are tens to hundreds of times higher than they have been in the past 10 […]
Climate change risks could cause an American “Fukushima”
Climate change risks could cause an American “Fukushima” Preface. Nuclear power plants need a constant supply of electric power to pump cool water into a reactor’s core. Ninety percent of them, 54 plants, have at least one flood risk exceeding their design. If flooding stops the power supply long enough, as happened in Fukushima, the […]
Going 100% renewable power means a lot of dirty mining
Going 100% renewable power means a lot of dirty mining Preface. Everyone talks about oil spills, but what about the dirty mining that will have a huge polluting footprint on the earth, and potentially destroy the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery among other side-effects? Renewables aren’t cleaner and greener than fossils, and require a hell […]
Why solar power can’t save us from the coming energy crisis
Why solar power can’t save us from the coming energy crisis Preface. Embedded within the posts below are even more reasons why solar electricity can’t replace fossil fuels. Meanwhile, all solar and wind do is add to the giant fire of burning fossil fuels and contribute a tiny bit more power, about 4% of all […]
We evolved to exercise and need high levels of physical activity to be healthy
We evolved to exercise and need high levels of physical activity to be healthy Preface. This is my summary of Herman Pontzer’s 2019 “Evolved to exercise. Unlike our ape cousins, humans require high levels of physical activity to be healthy” in Scientific America. As fossils decline, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll use more muscle power, so […]
Groundwater rise. Yet another climate change threat.
Groundwater rise. Yet another climate change threat. Preface. In coastal areas flooding is likely to be caused from groundwater rise because as sea levels rise, they won’t only move inland, flooding low-lying land near the shore; but also push water up from the saltwater water table, on top of which is a layer of lighter […]
Climate change effects on hydropower in California
Climate change effects on hydropower in California Preface. The main impact of climate change will be on hydropower in California, which is the largest source of renewable electric power. Besides natural gas, it is the only dispatchable form of power to balance unreliable, intermittent wind and solar power. But hydropower is often unavailable (i.e. drought, […]
Hydropower can’t help with the energy crisis
Hydropower can’t help with the energy crisis Preface. When fossil fuels are gone, there aren’t many ways to balance the unreliable, intermittent, and often absent for weeks at a time power from wind and solar. Biofuels and burning biomass is one solution, it’s dispatchable and can kick in at any time to make up for […]
Vanishing open spaces: population growth and sprawl in America
Vanishing open spaces: population growth and sprawl in America Before the fossil fuel age began, about 80 to 90% of people farmed to make a living. Since the end of the oil age will send us back to the past, farmland and farmers will once again comprise the greatest numbers of people. So it’s alarming […]
