Categories
-
Recent Posts
- Book review of “In order to live: A North Korean girl’s journey to freedom” by Yeonmi Park
- Summary of German Armed Forces Peak Oil Study
- Nitrogen fertilizer poses significant threats to humans and the environment
- Water resources infrastructure deteriorating
- Nuclear power too expensive. In 2013, 37 reactors predicted to shut down, 16 already have
Recent Comments
Archives
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- January 2011
Meta
Category Archives: Cascading Failure
Book review of Failing states, collapsing systems biophysical triggers of political violence by Nafeez Ahmed
[ In this post I summarize the sections of Nafeez’s book about the biophysical factors that bring nations down (i.e. climate change drought & water scarcity, declining revenues after peak oil, etc.) The Media tend to focus exclusively on economic … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Cascading Failure, Caused by Scarce Resources, Collapse of Civilizations, Collapsing, Drought, Drought, Exports decline to ZERO, Interdependencies, Limits To Growth, Middle East, Net Energy Cliff, Other Experts, Over Oil, Overpopulation, Peak Oil, Violence, War & Violence
Tagged climate change, drought, Export Land Model, peak oil, population, water scarcity
3 Comments
The electric grid, critical interdependencies, vulnerabilities: U.S. House hearing 2003
[ Related articles: Russian hackers suspected in attack that blacked out parts of Ukraine How the weapon works (pdf): CRASHOVERRIDE Analyzing the Threat to Electric Grid Operations The EMP Commission estimates a nationwide blackout lasting one year could kill up … Continue reading
Posted in Blackouts, Cascading Failure, Congressional Record U.S., CyberAttacks, EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Interdependencies
Tagged blackout, electric grid, electromagnetic pulse, EMP, interdependency, terrorism
Comments Off on The electric grid, critical interdependencies, vulnerabilities: U.S. House hearing 2003
1177 B.C. The year civilization collapsed
[ These are my notes that are disjointed but can give you an idea of how fast our fossil-fueled civilization could collapse. We are far more interdependent on much longer global supply chains (a wind turbine has 8,000 parts). We … Continue reading
Posted in 2) Collapse, Cascading Failure, Collapse of Civilizations, Drought, Historically, Interdependencies, Supply Chains
Tagged 1177, collapse, complexity, interdependence, supply chains
Comments Off on 1177 B.C. The year civilization collapsed
What would happen if trucks stopped running?
[ In “Why You Should Love Trucks” I showed that essential supply chains depend on trucks partly or completely in the movement of goods (NAS). Because of little inventory and dependence on just-in-time deliveries, our civilization would almost immediately feel … Continue reading
Posted in Cascading Failure, Dependence on Oil, Electric trucks impossible, Infrastructure, Oil Shocks, Transportation, Transportation, Trucks
Tagged civilization, electric trucks, life without lorries, trucks, trucks stop running
Comments Off on What would happen if trucks stopped running?
Transportation: How long can we adapt before we fall off the Net Energy Cliff?
Introduction The problem we face is a liquid fuel crisis. Absolutely essential vehicles, such as agricultural tractors and combines, railroads, and trucks run on diesel fuel, ships on bunker fuel. They can never be battery or fuel-cell operated or electrified, … Continue reading
On the cusp of collapse: complexity, energy, and the globalised economy
On the cusp of collapse: complexity, energy, and the globalised economy by David Koriwicz, 2011. Fleeing Vesuvius The systems on which we rely for our financial transactions, food, fuel and livelihoods are so inter-dependent that they are better regarded as … Continue reading
Posted in Cascading Failure
Comments Off on On the cusp of collapse: complexity, energy, and the globalised economy
Cascading failure + Liebig’s Law + Supply Chain Breakdown = Collapse of civilization
Declining supplies of high-quality, easy-to-get fossil fuels with no alternatives ready to replace them — ever — is the #1 issue. As long as we have oil, all problems can be solved, unless oil lasts long enough to deplete every … Continue reading