Category Archives: Energy

the posts in this category used to be in “Energy in A Nutshell” at my former web site.

Nuclear power too expensive. In 2013, 37 reactors predicted to shut down, 16 already have

Posted on August 6, 2017 by

[ Since this article was published in 2013, 10 of the 37 at risk plants Cooper listed have been or are scheduled to close down (in red) : Diablo Canyon, Clinton, Fitzpatrick, Ft. Calhoun, Indian Point, Oyster Creek, Pilgrim, Quad Cities, Three Mile Island, Vermont … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear Power | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How reasonable are oil production scenarios from public agencies?

Posted on July 31, 2017 by

So far both the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and International Energy Agency (IEA) are on target in their predictions. In 2014 (the last year for which there is data), world production of crude oil and lease condensate was 77.833 … Continue reading →

Posted in How Much Left, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Robert Rapier on why “fuel from CO2” breakthrough won’t work

Posted on July 26, 2017 by

Robert Rapier. Oct 27, 2016.  Ethanol From Carbon Dioxide Is Still A Losing Proposition. energytrendinsider.com If I told you that I had created a process to extract pure gold from seawater, you might deem it an amazing accomplishment. If I … Continue reading →

Posted in Biofuels, Biomass EROI, Far Out, Optimism & Critical Thinking, Other Experts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Richard Heinberg: Will the US really be a major energy exporter?

Posted on July 23, 2017 by

[ I read this the day it was published (January 16, 2017) at resilience.org here, but thought it would be interesting to post in the future to see if the EIA predictions were as optimistic as Heinberg and Hughes thought … Continue reading →

Posted in How Much Left, Natural Gas, Oil & Gas Fracked, Richard Heinberg | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Ugo Bardi: Turn CO2 into ethanol

Posted on July 17, 2017 by

Ugo Bardi. October 22, 2016. The mother of all promises and how science failed to maintain it. Cassandra’s Legacy. The latest scientific claim that went viral on the web is about a catalyst able to turn CO2 directly into ethanol. … Continue reading →

Posted in Far Out, Optimism & Critical Thinking, Ugo Bardi | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Ugo Bardi: Turn CO2 into ethanol

Steam powered farm tractors

Posted on July 10, 2017 by

[ Steam engines weren’t very efficient, 10 to 20% at best, which is why they went away beginning around 1920 when oil-powered engines came along.  At the very best steam engines for transportation reached 10 to 20% efficiency. They were … Continue reading →

Posted in Biomass-powered Steam Engines | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Wind and solar need natural gas to balance intermittent, variable, and seasonal power

Posted on July 8, 2017 by

[ The highest wind states are getting to be enormously dependent on natural gas to balance wind and solar as this EIA article about California below shows.  Yet conventional natural gas has peaked — half our natural gas– and is … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural Gas, Solar, Wind | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Wind and solar need natural gas to balance intermittent, variable, and seasonal power

The effects of Middle East events on U.S. Energy markets

Posted on July 2, 2017 by

[ Of note from this U.S. House 2011 hearing: John Hofmeister, former President of Shell Oil.  Matt Simmons, who passed away this past summer, used to speak of the Straits of Hormuz as, we live one day away from an … Continue reading →

Posted in Chokepoints, Energy Policy, Threats to oil supply | Tagged | Comments Off on The effects of Middle East events on U.S. Energy markets

Minerals: Natural gas from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Posted on June 29, 2017 by

Bardi, Ugo. 2014. Extracted: How the Quest for Mineral Wealth Is Plundering the Planet. Chelsea Green Publishing. NATURAL GAS.  As figure 1 shows, the average EROEI required to run industrial society as we know it is around 8 to 10.   … Continue reading →

Posted in EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Oil & Gas Fracked | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Big Fight: 21 top scientists show why Jacobson and Delucchi’s renewable scheme is a delusional fantasy

Posted on June 24, 2017 by

[ Seldom have I seen such a vitriolic fight among scientists.  As you’ll see below, I think all of them miss the main problems with trying to create a 100% renewable energy system, though I can only summarize and leave … Continue reading →

Posted in ! PEAK EVERYTHING, Alternative Energy, Electric Grid, Electric trucks impossible, Electricity, Infrastructure | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments