Monthly Archives: August 2020

Think covid-19 is bad? The tuberculosis pandemic is still killing millions

Preface.  These are my kindle notes from “The Plague and I” by Betty MacDonald.  Her great sense of humor, beautiful writing, and finding out what it would have been like to be in a Tuberculosis (TB) sanitarium in 1937 are … Continue reading

Posted in Health, Pandemic Fast Crash, Pandemics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Wave, tidal, ocean current, in-stream, & ocean thermal power

Preface. This is mainly a review of the 2013 National Research Council’s report on harvesting marine energy from waves, tides, temperature differences, currents, and run-of-river.  But also the latest projects and other evidence related to the energy that can be … Continue reading

Posted in Waves & Tidal | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Nuclear winter could kill 2 to 5 billion people

Preface. Carl Sagan introduced the idea of a “nuclear winter”, which helped to end the cold war.  The smoke from fires started by bombs would absorb so much sun the earth wold grow cold, dry, and dark, killing plants on … Continue reading

Posted in Extinction, Farming & Ranching, Fisheries, Nuclear War, Nuclear Winter | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Maddow’s “Blowout”, Russian peak oil, corruption, fake news

Preface.  Since this blog focuses on peak resources, I drastically rearranged my notes from this book in the order I found most interesting. I’m also interested in corruption, Putin, fake news, and more, as you’ll see below.  Since the book … Continue reading

Posted in Corruption, Corruption & Finance, Oil shock collapse, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Can you grow enough fruit and vegetables to be self-sufficient?

Preface. If you want to try to feed yourself, buy John Jeavons excellent book “How to Grow More Vegetables, Ninth Edition: (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land with Less Water … Continue reading

Posted in Farming & Ranching | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Golden Age of Russian Oil Nears an End

Preface.  One huge factor in Russia’s future oil decline not mentioned below is how incredibly corrupt and inefficient Russia’s oil and gas companies are, as Rachel Maddow describes in her book “Blowout”. A few quotes: The Russian oil and gas … Continue reading

Posted in How Much Left, Peak Oil | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Natural Gas essential for energy storage

Preface.  The U.S. Department of energy has admitted that a renewable grid is impossible without long-duration storage (LDES) and plans to hand out half a billion dollars to commercialize (LDES) (Colthorpe 2022).  Another recent report also argues that round-the-clock renewables … Continue reading

Posted in Blackouts, Energy Storage, Natural Gas, Natural Gas Energy Storage | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Far out #3: Sugar power

Preface. No, you object, sugar in the gas tank will destroy the engine. Not true. Snopes.com says that won’t happen because sugar doesn’t dissolve in automotive fuel or caramelize, and so it does not turn into the debilitating gunk this … Continue reading

Posted in Far Out | Tagged | Comments Off on Far out #3: Sugar power

Limits to growth: Oil & Gas Fracking sand

Preface.  Below is an excerpt about fracking sand from Beiser’s 2018 book “The World in a Grain. The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization”. In 2022 fracking sand has gotten so expensive it’s a factor in why production … Continue reading

Posted in Limits To Growth, Oil & Gas Fracked, Peak Sand | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Escape to Mars after we’ve trashed the Earth?

The idea that we can go to Mars is touted by NASA, Elon Musk, and so many others that this dream seems just around the corner.  If we destroy our planet with climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, aquifer … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Extinction, Far Out, Hopium, Human Nature, Planetary Boundaries, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments