Monthly Archives: August 2012

States should stockpile food like Alaksa

Bohrer, B. 29 Aug 2012. Remote Alaska to stockpile food, just in case. Business Week. JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska is known for pioneering, self-reliant residents who are accustomed to remote locations and harsh weather. Despite that, Gov. Sean Parnell … Continue reading

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Summary of Hirsch & Bezdek 2005 DOE Peak Oil study

A summary of: PEAKING OF WORLD OIL PRODUCTION: IMPACTS, MITIGATION, & RISK MANAGEMENT, February 2005 Robert L. Hirsch, SAIC, Project Leader Roger Bezdek, MISI, Robert Wendling, MISI The peaking of world oil production presents the U.S. and the world with … Continue reading

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Germany National Academy of Sciences report: Don’t use biofuels

Science magazine mentioned this study, below is my summary of it 26 Jul 2012.  Bioenergy — Chances and Limits. German National Academy of Science (Leopoldina Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften). Page 30-56 English Version. A major motivations for using bioenergy is … Continue reading

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Nut Trees are better than row crops: a lot more Food and also Fuel

Rutter, Philip A., et al. Woody Agriculture – On the Road to a New Paradigm. theoildrum.com Rutter says that organic or industrial farming aren’t the only choices. There’s a third solution — woody plants like nut trees that not only … Continue reading

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Maps of Hazardous Waste Sites, Pollution, Wildfire in USA

How safe from hazardous waste spills, pollution, and wildfire are you? As  energy shortages, poverty, and social unrest force increasing localization, with less energy and resources to maintain or clean up hazardous wastes, fight wildfires, go after polluters, and so … Continue reading

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Trashing the Oceans. An armada of plastic rides the waves

Hayden, Thomas. 4 Nov 2002. Trashing the Oceans. An armada of plastic rides the waves, and sea creatures are suffering. U.S. News & World Report. At Taco Bell on Main Street in Ventura, Calif., you can take out the chalupa … Continue reading

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The Largest Oil Spill on Earth: Ocean Plastic

Friedemann, Alice.  15 Feb 2003. The largest oil spill on Earth: Ocean Plastic.  EnergyResources. I had a disturbing experience at Cape Canaveral National Sea Shore last month.  I drove to the north end of the park, and walked south along … Continue reading

Posted in 1) Decline, Hazardous Waste, Plastic | Comments Off

Materials: 48,000 pounds of minerals Per Person/Per Year in USA

Fugate, Nelson. March, 2007. 300 Million Americans Need 7 Billion Tons to Maintain Living Standard. Mineral Information Institute. Every year, each of the 300 million Americans uses the following to generate energy — the equivalent of 300 people working 24/7 … Continue reading

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Solar Infrastructure: Materials, Land, and Energy required

To replace just one year of world oil use (1 cubic mile) you’d need to mine, fabricate, deliver, and build 91,250,000 Solar panels every year for 50 years (Goldstein). A PV plant that could produce 5.5 TWh of power (what … Continue reading

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Oil Built Our Infrastructure back when it was Cheap and Abundant

Most of our infrastructure was built many decades ago, when the energy returned on energy invested (EROEI) of oil was 100:1, and now it’s down to roughly 30:1 in the gulf, and much less elsewhere (at 10:1 civilization collapses). What … Continue reading

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