Category Archives: Energy

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

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

Anyone who whines about airplanes should have to take the Oregon Trail

Posted on June 20, 2017 by

Source: Book cover of “Oregon Or Bust: True Short Stories from the Descendants of Oregon Trail Pioneers, Prospectors, Trappers, and Settlers in the Great Northwest Hardcover” by Gentry Ward Cutsforth (2012), XLibris. [ In addition, I recommend the Louis CK … Continue reading →

Posted in Airplanes, Lithium-ion, Transportation | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

California hits the solar wall

Posted on June 17, 2017 by

[ What is a solar wall?  Read part 1: California could hit the solar wall and then excerpts from the following article in the financial times, Britain’s Wall street journal.  I’ve also reworded some of it. Renewables are rendering existing … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural Gas, Solar | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Minerals: Coal from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Posted on June 11, 2017 by

Bardi, Ugo. 2014. Extracted: How the Quest for Mineral Wealth Is Plundering the Planet. Chelsea Green Publishing. True large-scale coal mining started only during the 18th century in Europe, and in particular in England and France. Initially coal was considered … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal, Peak Coal, Ugo Bardi | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

America’s energy future. U.S. House hearing 2011

Posted on June 2, 2017 by

[  It’s always good to look back in time to when our representatives were worried about our dependency on oil.  Apparently they were desperate, since the proposed H.R. 909 bill included Coal-To-Liquids (CTL), much of it for the military.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal to Liquids (CTL), Energy Dependence | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Federal government subsidies, tax breaks, costs of renewable and fossil energy production GAO 2014

Posted on May 30, 2017 by

[ I’m far more interested in the energy returned on invested than money since that’s what really matters.  So I often stopped taking notes, and didn’t organize them. But the tables and figures give you an idea of subsidies and … Continue reading →

Posted in GAO Government Accountability Office, Subsidies | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Climate change effects on hydropower in California

Posted on May 11, 2017 by

[ The main impact is on hydropower, the largest source of renewable electric power in California, and besides natural gas, the only other way to balance wind and solar power, (unless utility-scale energy storage batteries become available).  But hydropower is often … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Hydropower | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Climate change effects on hydropower in California

The Peak Oil paradox revisited by Euan Mearns

Posted on April 26, 2017 by

Euan Mearns. July 16, 2016. The Peak Oil Paradox Revisited. theautomaticearth.com Euan Mearns: Back in the mid-noughties the peak oil meme gained significant traction in part due to The Oil Drum blog where I played a prominent role. Sharply rising … Continue reading →

Posted in How Much Left, Other Experts, Peak Oil | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Peak Oil paradox revisited by Euan Mearns

A Nuclear spent fuel fire at Peach Bottom in Pennsylvania could force 18 million people to evacuate

Posted on April 23, 2017 by

[ 2017-5-25. US nuclear regulators greatly underestimate potential for nuclear disaster. Nuclear spent fuel fire could force millions of people to relocate. Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.  The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission relied on faulty … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts, EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Nuclear Power, Nuclear spent fuel fire, Nuclear Waste | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Art Berman: Oil Prices Lower Forever? Hard Times In A Failing Global Economy

Posted on April 23, 2017 by

Art Berman. July 15, 2016. Oil Prices Lower Forever? Hard Times In A Failing Global Economy. Forbes. A pumpjack sits on the outskirts of town at dawn in the Permian Basin oil field on January 21 in the oil town … Continue reading →

Posted in Arthur Berman, How Much Left | Tagged | 5 Comments