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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?
Category Archives: Blackouts Electric Grid
What is the plan for an electric grid outage that lasts for months?
Preface. This is one of three posts based on Ted Koppel’s book Lights out. There’s also: Want to survive peak everything? Become a Mormon” and a longer book review, which this post has excerpts from regarding what the plan is … Continue reading
A Nuclear spent fuel pool fire could force millions to evacuate & cost $2 trillion
Preface. Nuclear cheerleaders love to talk about how safe nuclear power is. You will never ever hear them talk about nuclear fuel pools because that would destroy their argument. Though like Limits to Growth and Malthusian overpopulation dismissed by capitalists, … Continue reading
Skyscrapers: A bad idea as energy declines
Preface. One reason Paris is such a lovely city is that it was built to human scale, with buildings of five stories or less, because that was about as high as people were willing to climb, so not surprisingly, rents … Continue reading
Posted in Blackouts, Blackouts Electric Grid, Concrete, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Infrastructure & Collapse, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, North Korea
Tagged concrete, electric grid, elevator, high-rise, North Korea, peak oil, skyscraper
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Why wind and solar will cause more blackouts
Preface. Clearly fossil fuel plants need to be replaced with energy storage — batteries, pumped hydro, or compressed air. Many hours of backup power will be needed since, unfortunately, over two-thirds of total wind power in the U.S. happens outside … Continue reading
Posted in Blackouts, Blackouts Electric Grid, Grid instability, National Super Grid
Tagged blackouts, electric grid, energy storage, solar
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The Next Big Thing: Distributed Generation & Microgrids
Preface. Last updated 2022-9-5 The first article below explains what microgrids will look like in the future. But first a brief look at what a microgrid is, as Angwin explains in her book “Shorting the Grid. The Hidden Fragility … Continue reading
Blackouts, firestorms, and energy use
Preface. Blackouts are more and more likely in the future from fires, hurricanes, natural gas shortages and more. Below is an account from a friend who had to evacuate due to a wildfire. Blackouts in the news: 2024: Half a … Continue reading