Category Archives: Coal

Steam engines. Exergy power. and work in the US

Posted on January 27, 2019 by

Preface.  At some point of fossil fuel decline future generations will be tempted to build steam engines again, and perhaps just as in America initially they’ll use wood to fuel the engines, since coal will be scarce at some point … Continue reading →

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Vaclav Smil: from wood to coal to oil, energy transitions take a long time

Posted on December 17, 2018 by

Preface.  This post has a shortened, reworded, and heavily commented on article from Scientific American in 2014.  You can also see two much longer articles about energy transitions by Smil from n 2008 and 2010 here: Vaclav Smil: Our transition … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Coal, Dependence on Oil, Energy, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Posted on May 7, 2018 by

Volumetric versus specific energy density for selected energy carriers. Source: Palmer, G. 2020. Energy storage & civilization: a systems approach. Springer. Preface. Vaclav Smil writes “The fact that wind, solar, and biomass have incredibly low energy density per square meter … 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

Minerals: Coal from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Posted on June 11, 2017 by

Preface. This is just a small sampling of what Bardi thinks might happen post fossil fuels, mostly shortened and reworded. Here are 7 other posts from this great book: Mining: Waste, Pollution, Destruction Ugo Bardi predictions of the future Minerals … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Gail Tverberg: Why peak coal, oil, and natural gas will all happen at the same time

Posted on March 27, 2017 by

China: Is peak coal part of its problem? by Gail Tverberg,  OurFiniteWorld.com  | Jun 20, 2016 The world’s coal resources are clearly huge. How could China, or the world in total, reach peak coal in a timeframe that makes a … Continue reading →

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Coal power plants depend on railroads to deliver coal

Posted on February 18, 2017 by

[ The extract of a Senate hearing below is mostly spent on testimony by utilities bashing the railroads for not delivering enough coal due to a disaster in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming area, where coal dust infiltrated the stone … Continue reading →

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Peak coal 2013-2045 — most likely 2025-2030

Posted on January 16, 2017 by

Dennis Coyne. March 11, 2016. Coal Shock Model. peakoilbarrel.com Coal is an important energy resource, but we do not know how the size of the economically recoverable resource that will eventually be recovered. The mainstream view is that there are extensive coal … Continue reading →

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Peak Fossil Fuels: overview of peak oil, coal, and natural gas

Posted on August 21, 2016 by

[ Below are overviews of peak oil, coal, and natural gas, each followed by additional reading material from my book “When trucks stop running”. My book also explains why we are unlikely to be able to electrify transportation, as well … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal, How Much Left, Natural Gas, Peak Coal, Peak Natural Gas, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment