Monthly Archives: October 2017

Energy Crisis Booklist: EROEI, Peak oil, Peak coal, Peak natural gas, Nuclear, Kerogen, Methane hydrates

Posted on October 28, 2017 by

Preface. Civilization is utterly dependent on fossil fuels for heavy-duty transportation (batteries are too heavy to scale up to trucks). Manufacturing also depends entirely on fossil fuels. Fossil-fueled industrial heat can not be replaced with renewables.  In addition, over half … Continue reading →

Posted in Book List | Tagged , | 7 Comments

Book review of “Chasing the Scream: The First and Last days of the War on Drugs”

Posted on October 25, 2017 by

[ The founder of the War on Drugs, Harry Anslinger, wanted to build as large a bureaucracy as possible. But a war on narcotics alone—cocaine and heroin, outlawed in 1914—wasn’t enough. They were used only by a tiny minority, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Drug wars and the prison system | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Rob Mielcarski: You know you are in trouble when…

Posted on October 19, 2017 by

[ This is from the outstanding blog by Rob Mielcarski (un-denial.com) which you can see here.  I cant think of anything he’s left out… Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, … Continue reading →

Posted in Conserve Energy, Critical Thinking, Population, What to do | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Why didn’t any white collar corporate criminals go to jail after the crash?

Posted on October 16, 2017 by

[ This is a book review with excerpts of “The Chickenshit club: Why the justice department fails to prosecute executives”.  Here is how the author Eisinger summarizes the problem and consequences: “Businesses now have privileges not seen since the Gilded … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Mortgages, No Jail for Bankers & Wall St execs | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Why is nearly all solar power built where subsidies are the highest?

Posted on October 8, 2017 by

If solar net energy return is as high as some solar advocates claim, why does solar need any subsidies? And not just U.S. subsidies, it’s subsidies on top of subsidies when you add in that we’re buying Chinese government subsidized … Continue reading →

Posted in Concentrated Solar Power, Energy Policy, Photovoltaic Solar, Solar EROI | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Minerals & Energy from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Posted on October 5, 2017 by

Preface. This is a small section of Ugo Bardi’s excellent book “Extracted”. His most important observation is that: “The limits to mineral extraction are not limits of quantity; they are limits of energy. Extracting minerals takes energy, and the more … Continue reading →

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House hearing on Venezuela’s collapse March 2017

Posted on October 2, 2017 by

“The economy of Venezuela is largely based on the petroleum sector and manufacturing. Revenue from petroleum exports accounts for more than 50% of the country’s GDP and roughly 95% of total exports” (wiki). [ This is a summary of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Central & South America, Energy Dependence, Mass migrations | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

What would happen if trucks stopped running?

Posted on October 1, 2017 by

Preface. In “Why You Should Love Trucks” I showed that essential supply chains depend on trucks nearly completely. Because of little inventory and dependence on just-in-time deliveries, our civilization would almost immediately feel the repercussions of trucks stopping.  That sounds … Continue reading →

Posted in Cascading Failure, Dependence on Oil, Electric trucks impossible, Infrastructure, Oil Shocks, Transportation, Transportation, Trucks | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on What would happen if trucks stopped running?