Category Archives: Limits To Growth

Failing states, collapsing systems: biophysical triggers of political violence

Preface. 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 Cascading Failure, Caused by Scarce Resources, Collapse of Civilizations, Collapsed & collapsing nations, Drought & Collapse, Exports decline to ZERO, Food production, Interdependencies, Limits To Growth, Middle East, Net Energy Cliff, Other Experts, Over Oil, Overpopulation, Peak Oil, Violence, War & Violence | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Peak food. Sustainability challenged as many renewable resources max out

Preface. Also see related article Limits to Growth? 2016 United Nations report provides best evidence yet. This new article shows that climate change is already affecting harvests of the world’s top 10 crops that comprise 83% of our calories: barley, … Continue reading

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Ted Trainer criticizes Hatfield-Dodds CSIRO study in Nature that denies “Limits to Growth”

[This study denies “Limits To Growth”, and I’ve posted Ted Trainer’s objections below.  It is alarming Nature would publish such claptrap.  Has Rupert Murdoch secretly purchased them? Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com] Ted Trainer.  November 2015. A brief critical response to the … Continue reading

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Limits to Growth is on schedule. Collapse likely around 2020

[Unfortunately, this is not an April Fool’s joke… Other articles on Limits to Growth 2017-5-16 The Fallacy of Endless Economic Growth What economists around the world get wrong about the future Ugo Bardi. October 2015. Malthus the prophet of doom. … Continue reading

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U.S. Senate 2006 hearing on energy independence

[This is one of the most important hearings on U.S. Energy Policy I’ve read so far.  The title should have been Energy Dependence though. Senator Lieberman has many important points to make, too long to excerpt in this introduction, and … Continue reading

Posted in Limits To Growth, U.S. Congress Energy Dependence, U.S. Congress Energy Policy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Admiral Rickover 1957: Energy Resources & Our Future

Preface. I’ve shortened and reworded this speech. All of Admiral Rickover’s speech is prescient and important, a few paragraphs: “We live in what historians may some day call the Fossil Fuel Age. Today coal, oil, and natural gas supply 93% … Continue reading

Posted in An Overview, By People, Dependence on Oil, Energy Slaves, Limits To Growth, Military, Nuclear Waste, Other Experts, Overpopulation, Overshoot, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Wind turbines hit limits to growth before 50% wind power penetration

Material requirements of 50% wind power in the USA hit limits to growth Also see: Davidsson, S., et al. 2014. Growth curves and sustained commissioning modelling of renewable energy Investigating resource constraints for wind energy. Energy Policy. Fizaine, F., et … Continue reading

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Michael Webber on Energy + Water + Food interdependency

Webber, Michael E. February 2015. Our future rides on our ability to integrate Energy + Water + Food. Scientific American. Michael E. Webber is deputy director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. His Yale University … Continue reading

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Over 21 essential resources have peaked including fish, milk, eggs, wheat, corn, rice, soy

Nature summary of this article: “The rates at which humans consume multiple resources such as food and wood peaked at roughly the same time, around 2006. This means that resources could be simultaneously depleted, so achieving sustainability might be more … Continue reading

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Limits to Growth

Preface. What follows are a bunch of articles on limits to growth, sometimes just a link, sometimes excerpts. Today Wall Street Journal and other neocapitalists scorn the idea, insisting that human ingenuity and substitution can overcome all obstacles, and they … Continue reading

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