Monthly Archives: July 2014

Patzek: CTL coal-to-liquids from FT Synthesis is NOT likely to happen

This is a liquid fuel crisis – diesel to be exact – to keep tractors, trucks, trains, and ships moving. There’s not enough coal or water to make even a small percent of the FT-CTL diesel fuel we need from … Continue reading

Posted in Coal to Liquids (CTL), Tad Patzek | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

What we knew about the energy crisis back in 1977

A friend of mine found this yesterday in one of her folders from college.  If seems like even more Americans are ignorant and blindly techno-optimist today than they were 40 years ago.  The last item of how we might proceed … Continue reading

Posted in Advice | Comments Off on What we knew about the energy crisis back in 1977

American Physical Society: has the Battery Bubble Burst?

Aug/Sep 2012. Has the Battery Bubble Burst? Fred Schlachter. American Physical Society. APS News Vol 21, number 8. Phys.org Three years ago at a symposium on lithium-air batteries at IBM Almaden there was great optimism. The symposium “Scalable Energy Storage: … Continue reading

Posted in Batteries, Transportation Infrastructure | Comments Off on American Physical Society: has the Battery Bubble Burst?

Charles Hugh Smith: How To Find Shelter From The Coming Storms?

How To Find Shelter From The Coming Storms? by Charles Hugh Smith Some basic suggestions for those who are seeking shelter from the coming storms of global financial crisis and recession. Reader Andy recently wrote: “I look forward to your … Continue reading

Posted in Expert Advice | Comments Off on Charles Hugh Smith: How To Find Shelter From The Coming Storms?

David Fleming. 2007. The Lean Guide to Nuclear Energy. A Life-Cycle in Trouble

This is an easy to read 56-page primer on how nuclear reactors work, how ore is mined, nuclear fuel created, why there’s likely to be a supply crunch, and much more. I’ve extracted a small part of this article  and … Continue reading

Posted in Nuclear Power Energy | 2 Comments

Michael Klare: Twenty-First-Century Energy Wars

Twenty-First-Century Energy Wars by Michael Klare, originally published by Tomdispatch Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, South Sudan, Ukraine, the East and South China Seas: wherever you look, the world is aflame with new or intensifying conflicts.  At first glance, these upheavals appear … Continue reading

Posted in War | Comments Off on Michael Klare: Twenty-First-Century Energy Wars

David Korowicz: Catastrophic shocks through complex socio-economic systems

David Korowicz. 2013. Catastrophic Shocks through Complex Socio-Economic Systems. The globalized economy has become more complex (connectivity, interdependence, and speed), delocalized, with increasing concentration within critical systems. This has made us all more vulnerable to systemic shocks. This paper provides … Continue reading

Posted in David Korowicz, Stages of | 1 Comment

From Wood (10,000 BC to 1750) to coal (1750-1920) to Oil, Natural Gas, & Electricity to What?

Cutler J. Cleveland . Energy Quality, Net Energy, and the Coming Energy Transition.  Department of Geography and Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Boston University The level of health, food security and especially material standard of living that exists today … Continue reading

Posted in Wood | 2 Comments

Increasing population + declining fossil fuels = less population

[ This essay looks at the human footprint on the planet, how it grew so large, the problems it causes, and the consequences. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer … Continue reading

Posted in Peak Food, Population | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System. National Academy of Sciences.

Much of what follows is from the National Academy of Science 2012  (for the Department of Homeland Security): “Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System” & 2013 “The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and … Continue reading

Posted in Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Electricity Infrastructure, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Oil & Gas, Water Infrastructure | 1 Comment