Monthly Archives: September 2014

The Nitrogen Bomb – fossil-fueled fertilizers keep 5.5 billion people alive

Posted on September 30, 2014 by

Fisher, D. 4 April 2001. The Nitrogen Bomb. By learning to draw fertilizer from a clear blue sky, chemists have fed the multitudes. They’ve also unleashed a fury as threatening as atomic energy. Discover magazine Vol. 22 No. 4 In … Continue reading →

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Out of time: 50 years to make a transition, 210 years at the current rate

Posted on September 30, 2014 by

If transportation is to be electrified, then electric generation and the electric grid must be doubled, or even tripled. So by Cobb’s calculation, that would push back the transition time to renewables 420 to 630 years.  Alice Friedemann. By Kurt … Continue reading →

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Why You Should Love Trucks

Posted on September 27, 2014 by

Why You Should Love Trucks by Alice Friedemann, September 27, 2014 source: bitsandpieces1.blogspot.com Before the age of fossil fuels, getting food, water, and shelter was simple. Nine out of ten people were self-sufficient farmers. But now there are long, 24/7 … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Supply Chains, Transportation, Trucks | 4 Comments

Irrigation uses a lot of electricity, requires expensive grid in remote areas

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

[ The articles below show the interdependency of irrigation, electricity, climate change, water, and the U.S. energy sector.  In addition I’d add that all of these infrastructures are all falling apart and rusting. Once the electric grid isn’t up 24 … Continue reading →

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Two-thirds of coal to power sector delivered by railroads

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

June 11, 2014  U.S. Energy Information Administration www.eia.gov Railroad deliveries continue to provide the majority of coal shipments to the power sector Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-923, Power Plant Operations Report Note: Sum of components may not equal … Continue reading →

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Fuel economy improvements show diminishing returns in fuel savings

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

This means it’s unlikely we’ll turn over the vehicle fleet fast enough to make a difference in fuel consumption.  Which wouldn’t have happened anyhow due to Jevon’s paradox. July 11, 2014 Fuel economy improvements show diminishing returns in fuel savings … Continue reading →

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EIA definition of Proved Reserves and Resources

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

July 17, 2014 Oil and natural gas resource categories reflect varying degrees of certainty Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Note: Resource categories are not drawn to scale relative to the actual size of each resource category. The graphic shown above … Continue reading →

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Become a Bison rancher

Posted on September 21, 2014 by

Far more buffalo can be grazed per acre than cattle. It’s likely wild bison will return to the Great Plains in the future.   Already there are fewer people in areas where the Ogalla aquifer has been depleted than when Native … Continue reading →

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