Category Archives: Books

Read Chagnon’s “Noble Savages” instead – “Falling Sky” is co-written by one of his attackers

Posted on December 3, 2013 by

A book review by Alice Friedemann at energyskeptic of “The Falling Sky: Words of a Yanomami Shaman” by Davi Kopenawa and Bruce Albert. Anyone who knows about the baseless, hateful attacks on Chagnon by Tierney and other cultural anthropologists like … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | 3 Comments

New York Times review of “Countdown” by Alan Weisman

Posted on November 30, 2013 by

A book review by Nathaniel Rich, October 11, 2013, New York Times of: COUNTDOWN. Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth? By Alan Weisman If we wanted to bring about the extinction of the human race as quickly … Continue reading →

Posted in Extinction, Overpopulation | Leave a comment

Electric Agriculture. Turning electricity into food.

Posted on November 22, 2013 by

Agriculture is one of the main users of fossil fuels in our society.  As fossil fuels decline, food prices will increase.  How can we plant and harvest crops without fossil-fueled equipment? Ugo Bardi, et al., discuss the use of renewable … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Energy and Food prices, Food | 2 Comments

Microchips and Fab Plants: a Detailed description

Posted on November 17, 2013 by

I recommend reading my overview of how microchips are made before delving into the details below. Introduction to detailed overview of semiconductor manufacturing The crowning achievement of our civilization is the ability to make microchips.  It is by far the … Continue reading →

Posted in Antecedents, Chemicals, Cyberattacks, Microchip Fabrication stops | 7 Comments

Book Review of Visit Sunny Chernobyl

Posted on November 9, 2013 by

Alice Friedemann’s book review of Andrew Blackwell’s 2012 “Visit Sunny Chernobyl and other adventures in the world’s most polluted places” If you want to see photos from Blackwell’s travels, go to his website “Visit Sunny Chernobyl” Blackwell is the ideal … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Pollution | Leave a comment

Book review of “Too Hot to Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste”

Posted on November 8, 2013 by

A book review by Alice Friedemann of: Too Hot to Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste by William M. Alley & Rosemarie Alley. 2013. Cambridge University Press. Introduction to Nuclear Waste Disposal After Yucca Mountain was thrown out as … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Nuclear, Nuclear, Nuclear | 4 Comments

Vacation reading list

Posted on November 3, 2013 by

This is a list of worthwhile books, perhaps ten percent of the books I’ve read the past 30 years. How did I read so many? I read as I walked 10 miles a day to and from work. I didn’t … Continue reading →

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Alternative Energy Reading List

Posted on October 25, 2013 by

Why Alternative Energy can’t replace fossil fuels Book and Article list below   Introduction to alternative energy reading list Scale. Oil is the densest form of energy on the planet next to uranium.  To replace the one cubic mile of … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Book List | 2 Comments

Fossil Fuel Reading List

Posted on October 22, 2013 by

Fossil Fuel Energy Reading List Introduction “An Energy slave unit equals the average output of a man doing 150,000 foot-pounds of work per day 250 days per year. In low-energy societies, nonhuman energy slaves are horses, oxen, windmills, riverboats. Now, … Continue reading →

Posted in An Overview, Book List | Comments Off

Déjà vu – Lessons learned from the “Peak Oil” crises of 1973 & 1979

Posted on October 22, 2013 by

A book review by Alice Friedemann of: Howard Bucknell III.  1981.  Energy and the National Defense.  University of Kentucky Press. About the author: Bucknell was once the director of the energy and national security project at Ohio State University.  At … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, Energy | Comments Off