Category Archives: Energy

Muscle Power

Posted on February 5, 2019 by

Preface. Before fossil fuels, the energy to do work came from muscle power and the heat from burning biomass, mainly wood.  When I visited the Deutsches museum in Munich in 2017, I saw two animal treadmills: The first picture shows … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Energy, Life Before Oil, Muscle Power, What to do | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Book review of Vaclav Smil’s “Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects”

Posted on November 13, 2018 by

Preface.  In my extract of the 178 pages in the book below, Smil explains why renewables can’t possibly replace fossil fuels, and appears to be exasperated that people believe this can be done when he writes “Common expectations of energy … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Energy, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The electric grid: fragile, filthy, poorly managed, polluting, inefficient, corrupt

Posted on September 18, 2018 by

Preface. Most forms of alternative energy depend on the electric grid (nuclear, wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower). But the Grid is falling apart.  Most people who care about climate change believe electrifying everything will solve our problems. This energy section of … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Blackouts, Books, Electricity, Energy | 3 Comments

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

Posted on January 2, 2017 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. It is outrageous that on top of climate change and using up … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Nuclear, Nuclear, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Waste | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Notes from “The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World” by Steve LeVine

Posted on December 2, 2016 by

[ My notes from 2015 “The Powerhouse: Inside the Invention of a Battery to Save the World” by Steve LeVine follow this introduction. I read this book because I’ve done extensive research on batteries and was surprised by all the … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Energy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

How burning biomass made us human

Posted on November 15, 2016 by

[ This is a book review of Wrangham’s “Catching Fire: How cooking made us human”. Fire enabled us to have larger brains from the increased calories in cooked food, held carnivores at bay, killed bacteria, and gave us many other … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Evolution, Health, Wood | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on How burning biomass made us human

Book review of Door to Door and the amazing world of transportation

Posted on May 19, 2016 by

Edward Humes.  2016. Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation. HarperCollins. A book review by Alice Friedemann at www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation, 2015, Springer] I was in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Transportation, Travel | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

When Trucks Stop Running, So Does Civilization. Energy and the Future of Transportation.

Posted on January 16, 2016 by

When Trucks Stop Running. Energy and the Future of Transportation. Available at Springer, Amazon, Google Play, Barnes & Noble, Alibris Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer and “Crunch! Whole … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid, Electric trucks impossible, Electrification, Energy, Oil Shocks, Railroads, Ships and Barges, Transportation, Transportation, Trucks, When Trucks Stop Running | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on When Trucks Stop Running, So Does Civilization. Energy and the Future of Transportation.

Tilting at Windmills, Spain’s disastrous attempt to replace fossil fuels with Solar PV, Part 1

Posted on October 31, 2015 by

Book review by Alice Friedemann at energyskeptic of “Spain’s Photovoltaic Revolution. The Energy Return on Investment”, by Pedro Prieto and Charles A.S. Hall. 2013. Springer. Conclusion: the EROI of solar photovoltaic is only 2.45, very low despite Spain’s ideal sunny … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Alternative Energy Resources, Charles A. S. Hall, Debt, Electric Grid, Energy, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Pedro Prieto, Photovoltaic Solar, Solar, Solar EROI | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Who lives, who dies in a never-ending energy crisis. Book review of Nothing to Envy. Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Posted on April 6, 2014 by

[ The source of much of this information comes from Barbara Demick’s 2010 “Nothing to Envy. Ordinary lives in North Korea”.  But first I summarize why and how energy shortages led to the hardships chronicled in Demick’s book. Related posts: … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Energy, North Korea | 1 Comment