Monthly Archives: November 2019

How safe are utility-scale energy storage batteries?

This 2 MW battery, installed by the Arizona Public Service electric company, exploded in April 2019 and sent eight firefighters and a policeman to the hospital (Cooper 2019). At least 23 South Korean lithium-ion facilities caught fire in a series … Continue reading

Posted in Batteries, Lithium-ion, Safety | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on How safe are utility-scale energy storage batteries?

Scientists on where to be in the 21st century based on sustainability

Preface. The article below is based on Hall & Day’s book “America’s Most Sustainable Cities and Regions: Surviving the 21st Century Megatrends”. Related articles: Hess, P. 2016. These will be the best places to live in America in 2100 A.D. … Continue reading

Posted in Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , | 30 Comments

Microbes a key factor in climate change

Preface. The IPCC, like economists, assumes our economy and burning of fossil fuels will grow exponentially until 2100 and beyond, with no limits to growth. But conventional oil peaked and has stayed on a plateau since 2005, so clearly peak … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Scientists Warnings to Humanity | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

America loves the idea of family farms. That’s unfortunate. By Sarah Taber

Preface. As declining fossil fuels force more and more people back into being farmers, eventually 75 to 90% of the population, it would be much better for this to happen with family farms than gigantic mega-farms with workers who are … Continue reading

Posted in Farming & Ranching | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Bodhi Paul Chefurka: Carrying capacity, overshoot and sustainability

Preface. This is a post written by Bodhi Paul Chefurka in 2013 at his blog paulchefurka.ca here. I don’t understand his ultimate sustainable carrying capacity based on hunter gatherers. Why will agriculture go away? But the rest of the article … Continue reading

Posted in Overshoot, Paul Chefurka, Population | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Gravity energy storage

Preface. This is interesting, but not commercial. And as my book “When trucks stop running” explains, trucks are the basis of civilization, and can’t run on electric batteries or overhead wires. Even if they could, I explained why a 100% … Continue reading

Posted in Energy Storage, Research | Tagged | 9 Comments

Peak stainless steel

Steel and nickel aren’t on the critical mineral list, but nickel ought to be, since this study shows that there is a significant risk that stainless steel production will reach its maximum capacity around 2055 because of declining nickel production, … Continue reading

Posted in Infrastructure & Collapse, Mining, Peak Critical Elements | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments