Home » Posts tagged 'our finite world'
Tag Archives: our finite world
Reaching the end of offshored industrialization
Reaching the end of offshored industrialization Moving industrialization offshore can look like a good idea at first. But as fossil fuel energy supplies deplete, this strategy works less well. Countries doing the mining and manufacturing may be less interested in trading. Also, the broken supply lines of 2020 and 2021 showed that transferring major industries […]
Reaching the end of offshored industrialization
Reaching the end of offshored industrialization Moving industrialization offshore can look like a good idea at first. But as fossil fuel energy supplies deplete, this strategy works less well. Countries doing the mining and manufacturing may be less interested in trading. Also, the broken supply lines of 2020 and 2021 showed that transferring major industries […]
The world’s economic myths are hitting limits
The world’s economic myths are hitting limits There are many myths about energy and the economy. In this post I explore the situation surrounding some of these myths. My analysis strongly suggests that the transition to a new Green Economy is not progressing as well as hoped. Green energy planners have missed the point that […]
Ten Things that Change without Fossil Fuels
Ten Things that Change without Fossil Fuels It is now popular to talk about leaving fossil fuels to prevent climate change. Pretty much the same result occurs if we run short of fossil fuels: We lose fossil fuels, but it is because we cannot extract them. Practically no one tells us about the extent to […]
Today’s energy bottleneck may bring down major governments
Today’s energy bottleneck may bring down major governments Recently, I explained the key role played by diesel and jet fuel. In this post, I try to explain the energy bottleneck the world is facing because of an inadequate supply of these types of fuels, and the effects such a bottleneck may have. The world’s self-organizing economy tends […]
Fossil Fuel Imports Are Already Constrained
Fossil Fuel Imports Are Already Constrained For many years, there has been a theory that imports of oil would become a problem before there was an overall shortage of fossil fuels. In fact, when I look at the data, it seems to be clear that oil imports are already constrained. Figure 1. Interregional trade of […]
Our Oil Predicament Explained: Heavy Oil and the Diesel Fuel it Provides Are Key
Our Oil Predicament Explained: Heavy Oil and the Diesel Fuel it Provides Are Key It has recently become clear to me that heavy oil, which is needed to produce diesel and jet fuel, plays a far more significant role in the world economy than most people understand. We need heavy oil that can be extracted, […]
Models Hide the Shortcomings of Wind and Solar
Models Hide the Shortcomings of Wind and Solar A major reason for the growth in the use of renewable energy is the fact that if a person looks at them narrowly enough–such as by using a model–wind and solar look to be useful. They don’t burn fossil fuels, so it appears that they might be […]
The Fed Cannot Fix Today’s Energy Inflation Problem
The Fed Cannot Fix Today’s Energy Inflation Problem There is a reason for raising interest rates to try to fight inflation. This approach tends to squeeze out the most marginal players in the economy. Such businesses and governments tend to collapse, as interest rates rise, leaving less “demand” for oil and other energy products. The […]
Ramping up wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles can’t solve our energy problem
Ramping up wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles can’t solve our energy problem Many people believe that installing more wind turbines and solar panels and manufacturing more electric vehicles can solve our energy problem, but I don’t agree with them. These devices, plus the batteries, charging stations, transmission lines and many other structures necessary […]
2023: Expect a financial crash followed by major energy-related changes
2023: Expect a financial crash followed by major energy-related changes Why is the economy headed for a financial crash? It appears to me that the world economy hit Limits to Growth about 2018 because of a combination of diminishing returns in resource extraction together with rising population. The Covid-19 pandemic and the accompanying financial manipulations hid these […]
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 […]
Today’s Energy Crisis Is Very Different from the Energy Crisis of 2005
Today’s Energy Crisis Is Very Different from the Energy Crisis of 2005 Back in 2005, the world economy was “humming along.” World growth in energy consumption per capita was rising at 2.3% per year in the 2001 to 2005 period. China had been added to the World Trade Organization in December 2001, ramping up its […]
Ramping Up Renewables Can’t Provide Enough Heat Energy in Winter
Ramping Up Renewables Can’t Provide Enough Heat Energy in Winter We usually don’t think about the wonderful service fossil fuels provide in terms of being a store of heat energy for winter, the time when there is a greater need for heat energy. Figure 1 shows dramatically how, in the US, the residential usage of […]
The world’s self-organizing economy can be expected to act strangely, as energy supplies deplete
The world’s self-organizing economy can be expected to act strangely, as energy supplies deplete It is my view that when energy supply falls, it falls not because reserves “run out.” It falls because economies around the world cannot afford to purchase goods and services made with energy products and using energy products in their operation. It […]
