Monthly Archives: March 2016

Millions of hours of magnetic tape will be lost forever

[ Sarah Everts writes about the race to save magnetic tape in the August 21, 2014 issue of NewScientist in Wiped out: The race to save our video heritage. This article suggests that the fix is to convert magnetic tape … Continue reading

Posted in Preservation of Knowledge | 1 Comment

E. O. Wilson to save humanity from extinction, get rid of religion

[ Below is an excerpt, out of order, from New Scientist’s 21 Jan 2015 interview with E.O. Wilson “Religious faith is dragging us down“. The extinctions we cause will kill us too, says the sociobiology pioneer – the best thing … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Extinction, Scientists Warnings to Humanity, World's Best Scientists | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Corrosion eats $552 billion of infrastructure a year (6% of GDP)

Preface. United States infrastructure was built when the EROI of oil was very high and minerals and metals were cheap due to high ore concentrations. This study was done in 2002, since then, things have gotten much worse (see ASCE … Continue reading

Posted in Bridges, Oil & Gas, Rail, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Coal plants are causing water shortages in China

Wong, E. March 22, 2016. Report Ties Coal Plants to Water Shortage in Northern China. New York Times. China’s consumption of coal, a major contributor to climate change and the country’s horrific air pollution, is worsening a severe water shortage … Continue reading

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Who Killed the Electric Car & more importantly, the Electric Truck?

Preface. Who cares about electric cars? Civilization ends when trucks stop running. 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 … Continue reading

Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Critical Thinking, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Electrification, Transportation, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Who Killed the Electric Car & more importantly, the Electric Truck?

Don’t export LNG to Europe, they have their own natural gas

Preface. The congressional record is full of senators, representatives, and witnesses trying to sell U.S. shale “fracked” gas as LNG to Europe so that they aren’t beholden to Russia.  Well uh-oh, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the chickens have … Continue reading

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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 … Continue reading

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Nature: All women in the world should have the right to birth control

Source: Masri L (2019) “Two is enough” Egypt tells poor families as population booms. The Star. Preface. Nature is one of the top science journals, so it is a big deal that Nature finally acknowledged a growing population will wreak … Continue reading

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67% of USA counties still in recession — lower incomes than 2009

[ Time magazine points out that most of the green counties are oil drilling locations, which in 2016 are quickly losing jobs ] Wilson, C. December 15, 2015. See How Well Your Neighbors Have Recovered From the Recession. Time Magazine. … Continue reading

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Nearly a third of cacti threatened with extinction

Illegal trade contributes to placing cacti among world’s most threatened species – IUCN Red List 05 October 2015 | International news release Gland, Switzerland, 5 October 2015 (IUCN) – Thirty-one percent of cactus species are threatened with extinction, according to … Continue reading

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