Category Archives: Energy

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

Patzek: CTL coal-to-liquids from FT Synthesis is NOT likely to happen

Posted on July 21, 2014 by

This is a liquid fuel crisis – diesel to be exact – to keep tractors, trucks, trains, and ships moving. There’s not enough coal or water to make even a small percent of the FT-CTL diesel fuel we need from … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal, Tad Patzek | 1 Comment

American Physical Society: has the Battery Bubble Burst?

Posted on July 15, 2014 by

Aug/Sep 2012. Has the Battery Bubble Burst? Fred Schlachter. American Physical Society. APS News Vol 21, number 8. Phys.org Three years ago at a symposium on lithium-air batteries at IBM Almaden there was great optimism. The symposium “Scalable Energy Storage: … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Transportation | Leave a comment

David Fleming. 2007. The Lean Guide to Nuclear Energy. A Life-Cycle in Trouble

Posted on July 11, 2014 by

This is an easy to read 56-page primer on how nuclear reactors work, how ore is mined, nuclear fuel created, why there’s likely to be a supply crunch, and much more. I’ve extracted a small part of this article  and … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear Power | 2 Comments

Wave, Tide, Ocean Current, In-stream, OTEC power: National Academy of Sciences 2013

Posted on July 7, 2014 by

A review of “An Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Marine and Hydrokinetic Resource Assessments. 2013. Marine & Hydrokinetic Energy Technology Committee; National Research Council” by Alice Friedemann, July 7, 2014. Introduction The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) hired … Continue reading →

Posted in Waves & Tidal | 1 Comment

Lambert & Hall : Energy, EROI and quality of life

Posted on July 2, 2014 by

Excerpts from: Lambert, Jessica G., Hall Charles A. S. et al. 2014. Energy, EROI and quality of life. Energy Policy 64:153–167                     Fig. 12. “Pyramid of Energetic Needs” representing the minimum … Continue reading →

Posted in Charles A. S. Hall, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested | Leave a comment

From Wood (10,000 BC to 1750) to coal (1750-1920) to Oil, Natural Gas, & Electricity to What?

Posted on July 2, 2014 by

Cutler J. Cleveland . Energy Quality, Net Energy, and the Coming Energy Transition.  Department of Geography and Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, Boston University The level of health, food security and especially material standard of living that exists today … Continue reading →

Posted in Wood | 2 Comments

Videos

Posted on June 30, 2014 by

For those of you who prefer to listen rather than read Overviews of the Energy Crisis Peak Oil: A Staggering Challenge to “Business As Usual”  A very clever animated documentary from Incubate Pictures, that lays out the challenges to “business … Continue reading →

Posted in Videos | Leave a comment

Foreign Investment in Shale Gas is Drying Up

Posted on May 23, 2014 by

Jan. 2, 2014  For U.S. Drillers, the Days of Easy Money Are Over By Daniel Gilbert, Wall Street Journal. Oil and Gas Companies Slash Spending as Foreign Investment Dries Up Last year, 80 big energy companies in North America spent … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil & Gas Fracked | Comments Off

Michael Dittmar, Institute of Particle Physics: Peak Uranium 2015

Posted on May 22, 2014 by

The End of Cheap Uranium June 17, 2011. Michael Dittmar, Institute of Particle Physics,   Zurich, Switzerland Journal: Science of the Total Environment This paper concludes that “the end of the cheap uranium supply will result in a chaotic phase-out … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear Power, Uranium | Comments Off

Thorium: Not a near-term commercial nuclear fuel

Posted on May 22, 2014 by

Thorium: Not a near-term commercial nuclear fuel May 30, 2013.  Andrew T. Nelson.  Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Next Section Abstract In the wake of the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, opinion makers and policy makers, alike, … Continue reading →

Posted in Thorium | Comments Off