Monthly Archives: July 2016

OPEC’s policies are a threat to the U.S. economy. U.S. House 2000

Posted on July 28, 2016 by

[ Perhaps when the energy crisis has struck and rationing grows ever tighter, people not be traveling much and have more free time, and interest in the history of energy policy. So here’s a bit of what was said back … Continue reading →

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U.S. House 2000 Ensuring adequate supplies of natural gas and crude oil

Posted on July 27, 2016 by

[ The usual partisan nonsense can be found here — Republicans blaming Democrats for not solving the energy crisis by “Drill Baby Drill” and Democrats berating  Republicans for cutting energy efficiency programs. There are a few biophysical acknowledgements that energy … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Policy | 1 Comment

Nuclear waste will last a lot longer than climate change

Posted on July 25, 2016 by

[ Anyone who survives peak fossil fuels and after that, rising sea levels and extreme weather from climate change, will still be faced with nuclear waste as both deadly pollutant and potential weapon.  The worst last an awfully long time. … Continue reading →

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Decommissioning a nuclear reactor

Posted on July 23, 2016 by

[ Below are excerpts from the 7 March 2012 NewScientist article: How to dismantle a nuclear reactor about the costs and challenges of dismantling nuclear power plants in Europe. Other decommissioning news: 2017-5-17 Lithuania RBMK plant clean-up cost forecast at … Continue reading →

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Water-borne diseases will increase as energy declines

Posted on July 21, 2016 by

[ Drinking water and sewage treatment plants are the main reason lifespans nearly doubled. Not medicine. Read Laurie Garrett’s  “Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health” for details.  As energy declines, the ability of towns and cities to … Continue reading →

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Bankers and Wall Street take cheating to new levels

Posted on July 20, 2016 by

[ What follows is an excerpt of an interview between behavioral economist Dan Ariely (DA) and Graham Lawton (GL) in New Scientist  16 June 2012 “The Cheating Game“. This is yet another reason another worse crash is inevitable (in addition … Continue reading →

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Is large-scale energy storage dead?

Posted on July 18, 2016 by

 April 8, 2016 by Roger Andrews at euanmearns.com Many countries have committed to filling large percentages of their future electricity demand with intermittent renewable energy, and to do so they will need long-term energy storage in the terawatt-hours range. But … Continue reading →

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Solar PV cells using rare elements unlikely to scale up enough to replace fossil fuels

Posted on July 16, 2016 by

[ Sunshine may be free, but the materials to make solar contraptions aren’t.   Since sunshine arrives in a diluted form (2500 kWh/m2), vast expanses of solar photovoltaic panels will be needed to produce the world’s 15 Terawatts of power that … Continue reading →

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Getting rid of nuclear waste. Senate hearing on bill 1240

Posted on July 14, 2016 by

This post is about a Senate Hearing on nuclear waste bill S. 1240, the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2013. Here are a few important points, followed by excerpts from the hearing. What’s at stake if we don’t store nuclear … Continue reading →

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Shocking state of world’s riskiest nuclear waste sites

Posted on July 13, 2016 by

Pearce, F. 21 January 2015. Shocking state of world’s riskiest nuclear waste site. NewScientist. An urgent clean-up of two of the world’s most dangerous radioactive waste stores will be delayed by at least five years, despite growing safety fears.  The … Continue reading →

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