Category Archives: What to do

Oil Shocks. Airplanes are energy gluttons. Shut down the airports. Refine crude for ships, trains, and trucks.

Posted on January 2, 2020 by

Preface. As oil declines and the energy crisis worsens, airplanes ought to be the first to go since they are 600 times less energy efficient than large cargo ships (30,000 / 50), 50 to 120 times less efficient than trains, … Continue reading →

Posted in Airplanes, Transportation | 4 Comments

Billionaire apocalypse bunkers

Posted on December 2, 2019 by

Preface. There are many reasons why people might want a bunker, but peak oil, peak phosphorous, peak everything really… and limits to growth were not among the reasons given. James Howard Kunstler’s book, “The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of … Continue reading →

Posted in Where are the rich going | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Scientists on where to be in the 21st century based on sustainability

Posted on November 22, 2019 by

Preface. The article below is based on Hall & Day’s book “America’s Most Sustainable Cities and Regions: Surviving the 21st Century Megatrends”. Related articles: Hess, P. 2016. These will be the best places to live in America in 2100 A.D. … Continue reading →

Posted in Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , | 30 Comments

America loves the idea of family farms. That’s unfortunate. By Sarah Taber

Posted on November 13, 2019 by

Preface. As declining fossil fuels force more and more people back into being farmers, eventually 75 to 90% of the population, it would be much better for this to happen with family farms than gigantic mega-farms with workers who are … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Bodhi Paul Chefurka: Carrying capacity, overshoot and sustainability

Posted on November 10, 2019 by

Preface. This is a post written by Bodhi Paul Chefurka in 2013 at his blog paulchefurka.ca here. I don’t understand his ultimate sustainable carrying capacity based on hunter gatherers. Why will agriculture go away? But the rest of the article … Continue reading →

Posted in Overshoot, Paul Chefurka, Population | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Medicare for All?

Posted on October 28, 2019 by

Preface.  This is a 3-page review of a 34-page overview Congressional Budget Office report requested by congress on establishing a single-payer health care system.  IMHO, I don’t see how this can possibly happen.  How can a dysfunctional congress deal with … Continue reading →

Posted in Health | Tagged | 2 Comments

So you want to start a vertical farm?

Posted on July 26, 2019 by

Preface. Vertical farms sound even more impossible than rooftop farms, which at least can use free sunshine. And they use massive amounts of energy to heat, cool, ventilate, light, and so on, not a good direction to go given energy … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture | Tagged , | 6 Comments

France is trying to get rid of pesticides

Posted on July 14, 2019 by

Preface.  This article discusses how France is doing so far in their attempt to use less pesticides.  This is the direction we should be going in post fossils.  Many of the solutions are too high-tech to be used after the … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Pesticides | Tagged , | Comments Off on France is trying to get rid of pesticides

We evolved to exercise and need high levels of physical activity to be healthy

Posted on June 23, 2019 by

Preface. This is a summary of Herman Pontzer’s 2019 “Humans evolved to exercise. Unlike our ape cousins, humans require high levels of physical activity to be healthy” in Scientific American. As fossils decline, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll use more muscle … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Muscle Power | Tagged | 2 Comments

Rare Earth – why we may be the only intelligent species in the universe

Posted on June 2, 2019 by

Preface. I think that Ward & Brownlee’s 2000 book “Rare Earth: why complex life is uncommon in the universe” is one of the most profound and important books I’ve ever read.  What if we are the only intelligent species in … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Human Nature, Life Before Oil | Tagged | 11 Comments