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Category Archives: What to do
So you want to start a vertical farm?
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
France is trying to get rid of pesticides
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 agriculture, pesticides
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
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
Rare Earth – why we may be the only intelligent species in the universe
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
Book review of Mikhail’s “The beekeeper: rescuing the stolen women of Iraq”
Preface. This is a gruesome post you may want to skip. My main interest in this book was what will happen to the hundreds of millions forced to flee in the future because of the crash of civilization as oil … Continue reading
Posted in Collapse of Civilizations, Collapsing, Mass migrations, Middle East, Refugee Camps, Social Disorder, Terrorism
Tagged refugees
8 Comments
Book review: the stranger in the woods. The extraordinary story of the last true hermit
Preface. This has nothing to do with peak everything, but it was an interesting and profound book, and those of you who are survivalists may find yourself in a similar situation… Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com author of “When Trucks Stop Running: … Continue reading
Replacing diesel tractors with horses or oxen – what will that be like?
Preface. Since fossil fuels are clearly finite, at some point increasing numbers of farmers with diesel vehicles and equipment will want to replace them with horses, which can do the work of six people. Here’s what energy expert Vaclav Smil … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Life Before Oil, Muscle Power, Peak Food, Vaclav Smil
Tagged agriculture, horsepower, muscle power, oxen
10 Comments
Using manure for fertilizer in the future – it won’t be easy
Preface. At John Jeavons Biointensive workshop back in 2003, I learned that phosphorous is limited and mostly being lost to oceans and other waterways after exiting sewage treatment plants. He said it can be dangerous to use human manure without … Continue reading
Posted in Life Before Oil, Soil, Waste, Water
Tagged eutrophication, excrement, fertilizer, manure, phosphorus, sewage, water
8 Comments
Book review of Wrigley’s “Energy and the English Industrial revolution”
Preface. I’ve made a strong case in my book “When trucks stop running” and this energyskeptic website that we will eventually return to wood and a 14th century lifestyle after fossil fuels are depleted. So if you’re curious about what … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Agriculture, Energy, Life Before Oil, Limits To Growth
Tagged coal, industrial revolution, land, wood
7 Comments
From Horsepower to Horse Power. When Trucks stop, Horses start.
Preface. Before the industrial revolution there were only four sources of mechanical power of any economic significance. They were human labor, animal labor, water power (near flowing streams) and wind power. Work done by animals, especially on farms, was still … Continue reading
