Categories
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Recent Posts
- Rare Earth updates: recent research on why complex & intelligent life are rare in the Universe
- Book review of “Chip War” and the Fragility of microchips
- The tremendous material and energy toll of the digital economy
- Nuclear attack on U.S. could kill 90% of Americans
- What percent of Americans are rational?
- Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A Nation Unprepared. Surviving the Aftermath
- Off-Road vehicles & equipment need diesel fuel
- Book review of “Prime Movers of Globalization: the History & Impact of Diesel Engines & Gas Turbines”
- Mental Health. Coping with the future: notes from Jackson & Jensen’s “An Inconvenient Apocalypse”
- Tesla Semi trucks hauling corn chips
- What is the plan for an electric grid outage that lasts for months?
- Where to be? Links to Superfund, hazardous waste and other toxic sites in U.S.
- Why methanol cannot replace petroleum in shipping
- Why is everyone afraid of AI taking over? It makes stuff up!
- Do you want to eat, drink, or fly?
Monthly Archives: April 2021
Forests make the wind that carries the rain across continents
Preface. This is a controversial theory that if true, “could help explain why, despite their distance from the oceans, the remote interiors of forested continents receive as much rain as the coasts—and why the interiors of unforested continents tend to … Continue reading
Posted in Climate Change, Deforestation
Tagged climate change, deforestation, rain, wind
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How to make biomass last longer
Preface. Before fossil fuels, societies were able to make their forests last longer than today. Felling tall trees and killing them was rare except for special needs such as making bridges or ships. For firewood and other needs, trees were … Continue reading
Posted in Plant Trees
Tagged coppice, firewood, forest, pollard
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Book Review: The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material & the Construction of Civilization
Preface. This is a book review, mainly with excerpts, of Ennos’s book “The Age of Wood. Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization”. If you know anything about woodworking, you will enjoy the detailed descriptions of how and … Continue reading
Posted in Energy Books, Jobs and Skills, Life After Fossil Fuels, Wood
Tagged evolution, forests, infrastructure, Life After Fossil Fuels, tools, wood
1 Comment
Tree planting is not a simple solution but sure beats Carbon Capture!
Preface. The article from Science below lists both negative and positive outcomes depending on where trees are planted. The unintended negative effects could be a reduced water supply, the destruction of native grasslands and spread of invasive tree species, or … Continue reading
Posted in Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS), Plant Trees
Tagged carbon capture and storage, CCS, forests
4 Comments
How safe and cheap are Gen IV Advanced Nuclear Reactors?
Preface. Peak conventional oil, which supplies over 95% of our oil, may have peaked in 2008 (IEA 2018) or 2018 (EIA 2020). We are running out of time. And is it really worth building these small modular reactors (SMR) given … Continue reading
Australian Senate hearings on Peak Oil & Transportation 2006
Preface. This post has a summary of two of the nine senate hearings on Peak Oil in Australia in 2006. Someday historians may want to know which politicians knew about the energy crisis and when they knew it, probably to … Continue reading
Posted in Energy Policy & Politicians, GOVERNMENT, Transportation
Tagged Australia, biofuel, government, hydrogen, LNG, peak oil
1 Comment
Australian government was Peak Oil Aware in 2006
Preface. This post is excerpts from Bakhtiari’s testimony about Peak Oil before the Australian Senate Committee in 2006. I’ve excerpted what I found of interest, so if it seems disjointed, that’s my fault. And it isn’t just the Australian Senate … Continue reading
Posted in Energy Policy & Politicians, GOVERNMENT, Other Experts
Tagged Australia, Bakhtiari, government, peak oil
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We’ve wiped out two-thirds of wildlife in just 50 years
Last updated 2022-4-28 Preface. Human over-consumption is driving extinction far more than climate change. Humans began reducing biodiversity 4 million years ago, when large carnivores in Africa began disappearing (Faurby, S., et al. 2020. Brain expansion in early hominins predicts … Continue reading
Slavery in the Roman Empire
Preface. After fossils decline, we go back to wood as our main thermal source of energy for cooking, heating, smelting metals, ceramics, bricks, glass and other products that need the high heat of wood charcoal. Sadly, another source of energy … Continue reading
Walter Youngquist: Geodestinies dams and hydropower
Preface. I was fortunate enough to know Walter for 15 years. He became a friend and mentor, helping me learn to become a better science writer, and sending me material I might be interested in, and delightful pictures of him … Continue reading
Posted in Hydropower, Walter Youngquist
Tagged dams, hydropower, Youngquist
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