Monthly Archives: May 2016

California oil EROI dropped from 6.5 to 3.5 by 2005

Posted on May 30, 2016 by

Brandt, A. R. October 12, 2011. Oil Depletion and the Energy Efficiency of Oil Production: The Case of California. Sustainability 2011, 3, 1833-1854 [ Brandt estimates the energy return on investment (EROI) dropped from ~6.5 in 1955 to ~3.5 fifty … Continue reading →

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Hall and Lambert: EROI of different fuels and the implications for society

Posted on May 27, 2016 by

[ Excerpts from the Hall, Lambert, and Balogh EROI paper. You may want to read the original paper here since I’ve left out charts, figures, and text.  In my opinion, EROI is important because it is  due diligence – society ought to … Continue reading →

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How the Catholic Church and politics helped cause overpopulation and overshoot

Posted on May 27, 2016 by

[ All of what follows is from the article below.  Mumford makes the case that: “Had the recommendations of NSSM 200 been implemented in 1975, the world would be very different today. The prospects would have improved for every nation … Continue reading →

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The Hidden Costs of Oil. U.S. Senate hearing 2006.

Posted on May 25, 2016 by

[ This post has excerpts from the 2006 U.S. Senate hearing “The Hidden Cost of Oil”.  It is a timely reminder, now that gasoline prices are low and peak oil off the radar, that we are nowhere near the American … Continue reading →

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Energy return of ultra-deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil and gas

Posted on May 24, 2016 by

Moerschbaecher, M., John W. Day Jr. October 21, 2011. Ultra-Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas: Energy Return on Financial Investment and a Preliminary Assessment of Energy Return on Energy. Sustainability 2011, 3, 2009-2026 [Excerpts from this 18 page paper … Continue reading →

Posted in EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Threats to oil supply | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

USGS Groundwater Depletion study of Aquifer decline in the United States

Posted on May 21, 2016 by

[ The Ogallala and many other aquifers are depleting rapidly and growing more toxic from pesticides, feedlot waste, intruding salts, and other pollution.  Most won’t be recharged until after the next ice age.   The Ogallala is one of Earth’s largest … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Government, Groundwater, Peak Food, Water | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Tar sand EROI 2013 Poisson and Hall

Posted on May 21, 2016 by

Alexandre Poisson, Charles A. S. Hall. 2013. Time Series EROI for Canadian Oil and Gas. Energies 2013, 6, 5940-5959 [ This is an extract from this 20-page paper. Tar sands are the hope offered by techno-optimists that a great deal … Continue reading →

Posted in Charles A. S. Hall, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Oil (Tar) Sands | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Book review of Door to Door and the amazing world of transportation

Posted on May 19, 2016 by

Edward Humes.  2016. Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation. HarperCollins. A book review by Alice Friedemann at www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation, 2015, Springer] I was in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Transportation, Travel | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Peter Turchin: violence and social unrest in the U.S. and Europe likely by 2020

Posted on May 18, 2016 by

[ Peter Turchin, an expert on the cycles of history and the rise and fall of civilizations, has used mathematical models of complex systems to predict political instability. Debora MacKenzie at NewScientist interviewed him about his upcoming book “Ultrasociety” in … Continue reading →

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Climate change impacts on transportation 2008 U.S. Senate hearing

Posted on May 16, 2016 by

Senate  110-1199. June 24, 2008. Climate change impacts on the transportation sector. U.S. Senate Hearing. Excerpts from this 135 page document follow. DANIEL K. INOUYE, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII The transportation sector is a major indicator of the overall economic … Continue reading →

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