Monthly Archives: August 2020

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

Posted on August 30, 2020 by

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, Pandemics | Tagged , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on August 27, 2020 by

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

Even a small nuclear war could cause 1+ billion deaths

Posted on August 24, 2020 by

Preface. Carl Sagan first 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Extinction, Nuclear | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on August 21, 2020 by

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, Peak Oil, Russia | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Posted on August 18, 2020 by

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 Agriculture | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Golden Age of Russian Oil Nears an End

Posted on August 15, 2020 by

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 is essential for energy storage

Posted on August 12, 2020 by

Preface. In a 100% renewable energy storage system mainly dependent on wind and solar, there needs to be a tremendous amount of energy storage for up to six weeks when there is little wind or sunshine. The only storage now … Continue reading →

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

Far out #3: Sugar power

Posted on August 9, 2020 by

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 →

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Limits to growth: Oil & Gas Fracking sand

Posted on August 6, 2020 by

Preface.  Economists don’t believe in “Limits to Growth”, but good grief, if sand can grow scarce for fracking of oil and gas, and everything else for that matter (see more peak sand posts here), then surely other important stuff has … Continue reading →

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

Escape to Mars after we’ve trashed the Earth?

Posted on August 3, 2020 by

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, Human Nature, Planetary Boundaries, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments