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Hydrogen hopium: green hydrogen from water
Hydrogen hopium: green hydrogen from water Additional steps not shown in above figure: getting water to the electrolyzer, compress or liquefy to -423 F before storage, the trucks to deliver H to stations costing $75 million each, since pipelines are super expensive and may leak, corrode, and explode (Zhao 2018) Preface. For all the reasons why […]
How the grid works, why a distributed grid won’t work
How the grid works, why a distributed grid won’t work Preface. This book is a good primer on how the grid works, worth the price to me just to understand Volt-Ampere Reactives (VARs). Renewables don’t provide them, but they’re essential for keeping the grid stable and not coming down. Angwin describes VARs as a bit […]
Blackouts, firestorms, and energy use
Blackouts, firestorms, and energy use Preface. Blackouts are more and more likely in the future from fires, hurricanes, natural gas shortages and more. Below is an account from a friend who had to evacuate due to a wildfire. Blackouts in the news: 2021. Texas Was Seconds Away From Going Dark for Months. *** This is a […]
Climate Change dominates news coverage at expense of other equally important existential issues
Climate Change dominates news coverage at expense of other equally important existential issues Preface. I’ve noticed that in the half dozen science magazines and several newspapers I get practically the only environmental stories are about climate change. Yet there are 8 other ecological boundaries (Rockström 2009) we must not cross (shown in bold with an […]
Climate change impacts on transportation 2008 U.S. Senate hearing
Climate change impacts on transportation 2008 U.S. Senate hearing Senate 110-1199. June 24, 2008. Climate change impacts on the transportation sector. U.S. Senate Hearing. Excerpts from this 135 page document follow. DANIEL K. INOUYE, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII The transportation sector is a major indicator of the overall economic health of our Nation. Given that fact, […]
Achieving U.S. energy independence with our “neighbors” oil
Achieving U.S. energy independence with our “neighbors” oil [ The main U.S. interest becoming more energy independent by getting oil from our “neighbors” Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Canada, while at the same time minimizing growing Chinese and Russian attempts to get their oil and other natural resources. Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com author of “When Trucks Stop Running: […]
Unpave low traffic roads to save energy and money
Unpave low traffic roads to save energy and money The U.S. has 4.1 million miles of roads (1.9 million paved, 2.2 million gravel). About 3 million miles of roads have less than 2,000 vehicles a day, less than 15% of all traffic. The paved portion of these low-volume roads ought to be evaluated for their […]
Why did the environmental movement drop the issue of overpopulation?
Why did the environmental movement drop the issue of overpopulation? Roy Beck & Leon Kolankiewicz. The Environmental Movement’s Retreat from Advocating U. S. Population Stabilization (1970-1998): A First Draft of History [This is most of the 27 page report. Beck and Kolankiewicz have written this excellent paper explaining why the environmental movement abandoned the goal […]
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Who Killed the Electric Car? [ Who cares about electric CARS? Civilization ends when trucks stop running, and trucks can’t run on batteries because they’re too heavy (93% of the cargo weight, 25% of the cargo space), and an all-electric truck fleet would require thousands of new power plants, mostly running on finite fossil fuels. Although Wall […]
Phosphate: All hopes rest on Morocco Walan et al., 2014
Phosphate: All hopes rest on Morocco Walan et al., 2014 Walan, P., Davidsson, S., Johansson, S., Höök, M. (2014) Phosphate rock production and depletion: Regional disaggregated modeling and global implications. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 93(0): 178-187 [ My summary of paper: If you look around for what share Morocco has of phosphate reserves, you’ll see figures […]
Why we need a diverse electricity generation portfolio: House hearing 2013
Why we need a diverse electricity generation portfolio: House hearing 2013 House 113-12. March 5, 2013. American Energy security and innovation. The role of a diverse electricity generation portfolio. House of Representatives. 135 pages. June 5, 2015. Proposed Clean Power Plan would accelerate renewable additions and coal plant retirements. U.S. Energy Information Administration Even without the Clean […]
Why the Grid is getting less reliable. House Hearing 2013.
Why the Grid is getting less reliable. House Hearing 2013. House 113-40. May 9, 2013. Grid reliability challenges in a shifting energy resource landscape. U.S. House of Representatives. 176 pages. Mr. Jonathan A. Lesser, President Continental Economics, Inc. [This is a really good introduction to how the grid works and the problems caused by intermittent wind […]
Understanding peak oil theory, 2007 U.S. House hearing
Understanding peak oil theory, 2007 U.S. House hearing House 109-41. December 7, 2005. Understanding the Peak Oil theory. U.S. House of Representatives. [What follows are excerpts from the 95 page transcript of this hearing, the only one about peak oil and the possibility that peak production may happen soon. And also the only hearing where most of […]