Category Archives: Energy

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

David Fridley, LBNL scientist, on why alternative energy won’t save us

Posted on March 10, 2014 by

My summary of LBNL scientist David Fridley’s 9-page Alternative Energy Challenges. The showstopper is that the entire supply chain for alternative energy resources depend on fossil fuels, from mining basic (rare) metal ores, to fabrication, delivery, maintenance, and spare parts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, An Overview, David Fridley, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Expert opinions, Net Energy Cliff | Leave a comment

A financial crash would stop new oil production, sending us over the net energy cliff with a 10% decline rate per year

Posted on March 5, 2014 by

Reasons for our Energy Predicament – An Overview  March 4, 2014 by Gail Tverberg The potential for a 10 to 30% drop in oil production and consequent world-wide oil shocks will cause a fast collapse when one or more of these … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Markets, Flow Rate, Net Energy Cliff, Oil Shocks, Threats to oil supply | Leave a comment

Nature : Hydrocarbons and the evolution of human culture

Posted on March 3, 2014 by

Hydrocarbons and the evolution of human culture Charles Hall et al. 20 NOVEMBER 2003     NATURE. VOL 426 Most of the progress in human culture has required the exploitation of energy resources. About 100 years ago, the major source of energy … Continue reading →

Posted in An Overview, Energy | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Science : No single or combination of alternative energy resources can replace fossil fuels

Posted on March 3, 2014 by

Experts question new energy sources. Oct 31, 2002. AP. (APOnline) — None of the known alternate energy sources are technically ready to take the place of fossil fuels experts say in a new study: Martin Hoffert, et al 2002 Advanced … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Fusion, Nuclear, Solar, Wind | Leave a comment

Matt Simmons “Twilight in the Desert”

Posted on March 1, 2014 by

Once Ghawar and other large fields peak in Saudi Arabia, oil shocks will reverberate throughout the world   Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy August 6, 2005 Matthew R. Simmons, President Simmons & … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Flow Rate, How Much Left, Oil Shocks | Leave a comment

Making a can of Cola

Posted on March 1, 2014 by

Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins & L. Hunter Lovins. 1999. Natural Capitalism. Earthscan Publications   Chapter 3: “Waste Not”, pages 49-50. A striking case study of the complexity of industrial metabolism is provided by James Womack and Daniel Jones in their book … Continue reading →

Posted in Antecedents | Leave a comment

Muscle Power

Posted on March 1, 2014 by

Steven Vogel   Prime Mover: A Natural History of Muscle    W. W. Norton Reviewed in June 2004. Natural History Magazine Today we have machines for making people move in place: run, walk uphill, push pedals back and forth or up and … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Energy, Muscle Power, What to do | Leave a comment

The Nitrogen Bomb – fossil-fueled fertilizers keep 5.5 billion people alive

Posted on March 1, 2014 by

This article explains why the carrying capacity was 1.5 billion people until natural-gas based fertilizers were invented.  As natural gas declines, so too will human population. DISCOVER Vol. 22 No. 4 April 2001. By David E. Fisher & Marshall Jon … Continue reading →

Posted in Hunger, Natural Gas, Peak Fertilizer | Leave a comment

Motherboards in Computers – too complex to make in the future

Posted on March 1, 2014 by

How can a wood-based world have the supply chains, minerals, electric-grid up 24 x 7, and so on necessary to construct anything this complex?  It’s time to preserve knowledge on something more long lasting than microfiche or acid-free paper. How … Continue reading →

Posted in Antecedents, Microchip Fabrication stops | Leave a comment

Wind & Solar need thousands of tons of steel, aluminum, cement, concrete, copper but produce little energy

Posted on March 1, 2014 by

Summary of Sergio Pacca and Darpa Horvath 2002 Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Building and Operating  Electric Power Plants in the Upper Colorado River Basin ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / VOL. 36, NO. 14 pp. 3194-3200 As you can see, Wind … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Photovoltaic Solar, Wind | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment