Category Archives: Energy

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

Energy from cow flatulence

Posted on June 16, 2018 by

[ Other “energy alternatives” in the Far Out category of menu item Energy include escaping to Mars, liposuction fat, whirlwinds, playground power, garbage, tornadoes, and turning seawater into fuel.    Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy … Continue reading →

Posted in Far Out | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Challenges & opportunities for alternative transportation fuels and vehicles. U.S. House hearing, 2011

Posted on June 10, 2018 by

Congress is aware that an energy crisis looms, though they seldom acknowledge or deal with it.  Here are a few excerpts from this hearing: Michael F. Doyle, Pennsylvania.   It seems like we repeat this cycle in this country decade after … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Energy Dependence, Energy Policy, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Royal Society on peak oil and how much oil is left

Posted on June 1, 2018 by

[ This is a great introduction to the whole topic of oil, reserves, resources, and so on. It’s very long so I’ve only excerpted bits of it and reworded some of it.  I can’t say there’s anything new in here … Continue reading →

Posted in How Much Left | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

BBC: Fusion energy pushed back beyond 2050

Posted on May 25, 2018 by

Cartlidge, E. July 11, 2017. Fusion energy pushed back beyond 2050. BBC. We will have to wait until the second half of the century for fusion reactors to start generating electricity, experts have announced. A new version of a European … Continue reading →

Posted in Fusion | Tagged | 9 Comments

One of the biggest risks to the world’s financial system is the $3 trillion of debt owed by oil and gas firms

Posted on May 24, 2018 by

[ Yet another “crash coming soon” post, if it hasn’t happened already (I scheduled this article and others to appear a year or more later, since crashes always take longer to happen than you expect. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bond Market, Crash Coming Soon, Debt, Oil & Gas Fracked | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Steve St. Angelo: The global oil & gas industry is cannibalizing itself to stay alive

Posted on May 19, 2018 by

[ I heard Steve recently on a Peak prosperity podcast here.  I like St. Angelo because he is one of very few financial advisors who understand the role energy plays in the economy.  Though I don’t think that gold and … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt, Economic, Investing advice, Natural Gas, Oil | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Many signs of peak oil and decline

Posted on May 13, 2018 by

[ I think the huge debt of major and minor oil and gas companies, falling cash flow, and dimming prospects are a huge waving banner of “Danger Ahead!”  It was expected by those of us following the energy crisis that … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt, How Much Left, Peak Oil | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Power density of biomass, wind, & solar take too much land to replace fossil fuels

Posted on May 7, 2018 by

Preface. Vaclav Smil writes “The fact that wind, solar, and biomass have incredibly low energy density per square meter means that a fully renewable system to replace the 320 GW of fossil fueled electricity generation and 1.8 TW of coal, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Biomass, Coal, Hydropower, Natural Gas, Oil | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

World’s first multi-million dollar carbon-capture plant does work of just $17,640 worth of trees

Posted on April 28, 2018 by

Preface. This is a shortened and reworded version of the original article.  Obviously, since we’re at the peak of global fossil fuel production, when the plateau ends sometime between now and 2025 and production declines exponentially, greenhouse gas emissions will … Continue reading →

Posted in CCS Carbon Capture & Storage, Climate Change | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Can the lights be kept on with distributed generation? 2015 U.S. House hearing on a reliable electric system

Posted on April 20, 2018 by

[ Corporate speakers testify – could they have any self-interest, hope for government grants?  Since Congress often asks the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to write unbiased papers on topics,  why didn’t NAS and National Laboratory scientists speak? Corporations are … Continue reading →

Posted in Congressional Record U.S., Distributed Generation, Grid instability | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Can the lights be kept on with distributed generation? 2015 U.S. House hearing on a reliable electric system