Monthly Archives: April 2019

Book review: the stranger in the woods. The extraordinary story of the last true hermit

Posted on April 30, 2019 by

Preface.  On March 16, 2020 it was announced that the residents of most San Francisco Bay Area counties were expected to shelter in place for a few weeks to stop the Covid-19 pandemic.   Three weeks?  You can do it, Christopher … Continue reading →

Posted in (Auto)biography, Real Estate | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Replacing diesel tractors with horses or oxen – what will that be like?

Posted on April 27, 2019 by

Preface.  Since fossil fuels are clearly finite, at some point increasing numbers of farmers with diesel vehicles and equipment will want to replace them with horses, which can do the work of six people.  Here’s what  energy expert Vaclav Smil … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Life Before Oil, Muscle Power, Peak Food, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Fish scraps could power some cruise ships by 2021

Posted on April 24, 2019 by

Preface.  Some black humor for those following energy descent. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer and “Crunch! Whole Grain Artisan Chips and Crackers”. Podcasts:  KunstlerCast 253, KunstlerCast278, Peak Prosperity] … Continue reading →

Posted in Far Out | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Using manure for fertilizer in the future – it won’t be easy

Posted on April 21, 2019 by

Preface. At John Jeavons Biointensive workshop back in 2003, I learned that phosphorous is limited and mostly being lost to oceans and other waterways after exiting sewage treatment plants.  He said it can be dangerous to use human manure without … Continue reading →

Posted in Life Before Oil, Soil, Waste, Water | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

North Korea’s less-known military threat: Biological weapons

Posted on April 18, 2019 by

Preface.  Oh no! North Korea is developing bioweapons probably.  Here are some excerpts from the New York Times article. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer and “Crunch! Whole Grain … Continue reading →

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Hydropower dams and the ways they destroy the environment

Posted on April 15, 2019 by

Preface. Hydropower comprises 71% of renewable energy worldwide.  Nations like the U.S. and Europe have dams that have reached the end of their lifespan — more are being torn down than built. In the U.S. 546 dams were removed between … Continue reading →

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Book review of Wrigley’s “Energy and the English Industrial revolution”

Posted on April 12, 2019 by

Preface. I’ve made a strong case in my book “When trucks stop running” and this energyskeptic website that we will eventually return to wood and a 14th century lifestyle after fossil fuels are depleted. So if you’re curious about what … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture, Energy, Life Before Oil, Limits To Growth | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Ugo Bardi: “Energy Dominance,” what does it mean? Decoding a Fashionable Slogan

Posted on April 9, 2019 by

Preface.  A very good article about energy and war, explains a lot about how the world really works. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer and “Crunch! Whole Grain Artisan … Continue reading →

Posted in Over Oil, Ugo Bardi | Tagged , | 1 Comment

California’s central valley aquifers may be gone in 2030s, Ogallala 2050-2070

Posted on April 6, 2019 by

Preface. Clearly the human population isn’t going to reach 10 billion or more. California grows one-third of the nation’s food, the 10 high-plains states over the Ogallala about a quarter of the nations food, and exports a great deal of … Continue reading →

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Book review of “The Soul of an Octopus”

Posted on April 3, 2019 by

Preface.  The octopus is an amazing creature, more than can be conveyed in the bits and pieces I’ve selected below.  The only downside to reading it is that you may not want to eat octopus anymore! 2018: A team of … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural History | Tagged , | 1 Comment