Category Archives: 2) Collapse

The collapse of the financial system, breakdown of supply chains, blackouts, end of being able to make computer chips, and so on are symptoms of the underlying cause: LESS OIL AVAILABLE TO DO MILLIONS OF ESSENTIAL TASKS. Whether the house of cards goes from the financial shock of a natural disaster or from debt and corruption, blockage of the Suez canal, Export Land Model, or (nuclear war) — there is certain to be a series of dislocations that ultimately bring population down to 1 billion or less, and given past collapses, take about 20-30 years. Let’s hope there are some islands of sanity and that you, dear reader, are living on one of them!

75% of Earth’s Land Areas Are Degraded. Environmental damage threatens 3.2 billion people.

Posted on December 1, 2018 by

  Preface. Yikes, by 2050 95% of Earth’s land could be degraded and reduce or even end food production, forcing hundreds of millions to migrate. Whatever you’ve read in the past about the State of the World, it’s gotten even … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Biodiversity Loss, Limits To Growth, Peak Food | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Crash alert: China’s resource crisis could be the trigger

Posted on November 25, 2018 by

Preface.  Way to go Nafeez Ahmed, your second home run of reality based reporting on the energy crisis this week.  There are countless economists within the mainstream media predicting an economic crisis worse than in 2008, but they totally ignore … Continue reading →

Posted in Crash Coming Soon, EROEI remaining oil too low, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The coming crash in 2020 from high diesel prices for cleaner emission of oceangoing ships

Posted on November 21, 2018 by

Preface.  Ships made globalization possible, and play an essential role in our high standard of living, carrying 90% of global goods traded. But the need for a new, cleaner fuel may cause the next economic crisis.  What follows are excerpts … Continue reading →

Posted in By People, Crash Coming Soon, Peak Oil, Ships and Barges | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Germany’s wind energy mess: As subsidies expire, thousands Of turbines to close

Posted on November 16, 2018 by

Preface. This means that the talk about renewables being so much cheaper than anything else isn’t necessarily true.  If wind were profitable, more turbines would be built to replace the old ones  without subsidies needed. Unless they can be dumped … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid, Energy, Wind | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Fresh water depletion, contamination, saltwater intrusion, & permanent subsidence

Posted on November 7, 2018 by

Map of the U.S. showing cumulative groundwater depletion from 1900 through 2008 in 40 aquifers. Source: Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900-2008), USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5079. Preface. What follows is from: Ayre, J. April 2018. Fossil Water Depletion, Groundwater … Continue reading →

Posted in Groundwater, Salinity, Water, Water, Water | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Escape to Mars after we’ve trashed the Earth?

Posted on October 30, 2018 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, and so on, no problem, … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Extinction, Far Out, Human Nature, Planetary Boundaries, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Invasive insects

Posted on October 21, 2018 by

Preface.  Below is a by no means exhaustive list of insect scourges, just the ones I happen to run across in the magazines I subscribe to or online.  To some extent these invasions are being suppressed by massive amounts of … Continue reading →

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Book: John Perlin’s “A Forest Journey: The Story of Wood and Civilization”

Posted on October 18, 2018 by

Preface.  This contains excerpts from John Perlin’s “A Forest Journey: The Story of Wood and Civilization”. It’s one of my favorite books about natural resources, exploring the role wood has played in the rise and fall of civilizations since they … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse of Civilizations, Collapsed, Deforestation, Limits To Growth, Peak Resources, Soil, Wood | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Venezuela collapse: looting, hunger, blackouts

Posted on October 9, 2018 by

[ Venezuela is experiencing a double whammy of drought and low oil prices, which has lead to blackouts and inability to import food.  It just keeps getting worse and worse.  Related posts: Book review of “In order to live: A … Continue reading →

Posted in Central & South America, Social Disorder | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Book review of “White Trash. The 400-year untold history of class in America”

Posted on September 27, 2018 by

Preface.  This book makes the case that the poor arrived 500 years ago when America was first settled, and most of them never rose to the middle or upper classes because “land was the principal source of wealth, and those … Continue reading →

Posted in Distribution of Wealth, Financial, Politics, Poverty | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Book review of “White Trash. The 400-year untold history of class in America”