Monthly Archives: September 2017

How long will the marriage of fracked oil and tar sands last?

[ Below is a post by Art Berman which I found interesting because I’m concerned about whether enough diesel can be made in the future to keep trucks running.  Light tight “fracked” oil is better at making plastics and gasoline … Continue reading

Posted in Oil & Gas Fracked, Tar Sands (Oil Sands) | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Underground pumped hydro storage is the only technology capable of massive storage for renewable electricity

[ Picard concludes that “None of the candidate technologies for massive-scale renewable and sustainable generation of ‘‘green’’ electricity deliver it in a form suitable for high-efficiency storage. None of the prospectively-massive storage modes for transformed electricity is at present well … Continue reading

Posted in Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Energy Storage, Grid instability, Hydropower, Renewable Integration | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Nate Hagens “Peak Oil” – Why Smart Folks Disagree – Part II

[ There’s a great deal of interest in the Hill’s Group report, but Nate Hagens came up with similar results back in 2007 and he explains his ideas far more eloquently.  Although much production of U.S. oil and gas may … Continue reading

Posted in How Much Left, Nate Hagens | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Kurt Cobb: Peak oil production has been hidden by the EIA by including condensate and other non-transportation fuels

[ The Energy Information Administration has done what they can to hide peak oil production by adding in everything but the kitchen sink to overall oil production numbers, such as ethanol and natural gas liquids, which are not true transportation … Continue reading

Posted in How Much Left, Kurt Cobb, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

House hearing: no solutions for North Korea in sight

[ This is a summary of the March 2017 house hearing titled “Pressuring North Korea–evaluating options”. First are some of the reasons why nothing is going to change –in my own wording–followed by congressional testimony.  Then Chairman Yoho gives a … Continue reading

Posted in North Korea, Oil shock collapse, U.S. Congress Energy Policy | Tagged , | Comments Off on House hearing: no solutions for North Korea in sight

Pentagon video warns of unavoidable dystopian future for world’s biggest cities

Preface.  A few excerpts: Megacities are, by definition, urban areas with a population of 10 million or more, and they have been a recent source of worry and research for the U.S. military. A 2014 Army report, titled “Megacities and … Continue reading

Posted in Military | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Of course the reason the U.S. invades other countries for oil

  This post contains information from Nafeez Ahmed’s 2017 book “Failing States, Collapsing Systems BioPhysical Triggers of Political Violence“, Springer. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer and “Crunch! Whole … Continue reading

Posted in Middle East, Over Oil, Social Disorder, Terrorism | 1 Comment

Bonds – a hidden risk to the economy

Condon, B. August 24, 2016. The hidden risk to the economy in corporate balance sheets. AP. America has a debt problem, but it’s not what you think. Yes, the federal government owes trillions of dollars more than it did a … Continue reading

Posted in Bond Market | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Minerals and War from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Preface. This is an extract from Ugo Bardi’s book “Extracted”.  He makes the case that once we were able to forge metal weapons was when predatory nations began to invade one another to gain resources like coal to make more … Continue reading

Posted in Mining, Peak Coal, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Oil, Peak Precious Elements, Ugo Bardi, War | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Minerals and War from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Tackling mine wastes

Preface. This barely scratches the problems of mining wastes, but for what it’s worth, here are a few of the articles I’ve run across on this topic.  Like burying nuclear waste deep underground while we still have cheap energy and … Continue reading

Posted in Chemicals, Hazardous Waste, Pollution | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Tackling mine wastes