Category Archives: Energy

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

Energy Slaves

Posted on April 15, 2014 by

Many people have taken a crack at estimating how much muscle power the energy contained within oil represents.  Although each comes up with different results, they all show how powerful oil is and how angry our descendants will be that … Continue reading →

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Energy Primers

Posted on April 15, 2014 by

Professors and other energy experts have presentations that will help you understand our energy predicament. Tad Patzek Powering the World: Offshore Oil & Gas Production 2012 Agriculture/Biofuels/Contaminants/Ecology/Global Energy Supply Publications  1991-2012 Biofuel archive  

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Fusion is the only energy resource that could replace fossil fuels — so how is ITER doing?going?

Posted on April 14, 2014 by

Cost Skyrockets for United States’ Share of ITER Fusion Project 10 April 2014. Science. Summary ITER won’t start running until 2024 or 2025 The project won’t be done until 2034 creating a “burning plasma” that produces more energy than the … Continue reading →

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EROEI of at least 10:1 to Sustain Civilization

Posted on April 13, 2014 by

Someone named Memmel posted this on theoildrum. He makes the case that 40 to 50% of us have jobs that somehow relate to food, in some way or another supporting the 1-2% who do the actual farming. So once EROEI … Continue reading →

Posted in EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested | Leave a comment

Oil Sands missed rosy production figures – AGAIN

Posted on April 12, 2014 by

Commentary: Canadian Oil Sands Misses Unrealistic Projection – Issues Another December 14, 2009 Tom Standing ASPO USA Peak Oil Review Canadian energy authorities have done it again. They missed their last rosy projection of future oil sands production, so they … Continue reading →

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Biomass Electricity More Polluting Than Coal and Waste Incinerators

Posted on April 5, 2014 by

Trees, Trash, and Toxics: How Biomass Energy Has Become the New Coal Mary S. Booth, PhD Partnership for Policy Integrity April 2 , 2014 Executive Summary Highlights Because of a perfect storm of lax regulation and regulatory rollbacks , biomass … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Biofuels, Hazardous Waste | Leave a comment

2nd largest oil field in the world, Mexic’s Cantarelle, declining rapidly

Posted on April 4, 2014 by

Mexican oil exports: start saying adios! Martin Payne . 19 Mar 2008.Energy Bulletin. 1)      This story illustrates the problem of RATE of production – you might have a lot of oil, but if you can only produce it at x … Continue reading →

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Charles Hall on EROEI in Scientific American

Posted on April 1, 2014 by

Will Fossil Fuels Be Able to Maintain Economic Growth? A Q&A with Charles Hall The inventor of the energy return on investment (EROI) metric argues that economic growth could soon stop—and that we need to get smart about incorporating the … Continue reading →

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

Export Land Model

Posted on March 27, 2014 by

What the Export Land Model Means for Energy Prices David Galland, Managing Director Casey Research June 5th, 2008 To understand the importance of exports when discussing peak oil, ask yourself the question: “What’s more important: the fact that global oil … Continue reading →

Posted in Exports decline to ZERO, How Much Left, Oil Shocks | Leave a comment

How the sun could end Nuclear Power

Posted on March 25, 2014 by

Flare-up: How the Sun Could Put an End to Nuclear Power Gar Smith. Spring 2012. Earth Island Journal. According to NASA, the planet will soon face an outbreak of powerful solar flares capable of collapsing global power grids. Were this … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid, Nuclear Power | Leave a comment