Tag Archives: energy

Energy, Water, & Climate Change are interdependent

Preface. This is a very long post with summaries of two GAO reports on interdependencies of energy, water, and climate change from 2014 and 2012. While cheap and plentiful oil remains, these problems can be fixed, hiding the true depth … Continue reading

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Drinking water and sewage treatment use a lot of energy

[ Water treatment (drinking and sewage) use tremendous amounts of energy. Some of the statistics from this document “Water & Wastewater Utility energy research roadmap” below are: In 2008 municipal wastewater treatment systems (WWTP) in the United States used approximately … Continue reading

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The effect of high energy prices on small business. U.S. House of Representatives, 2014

[ This hearing is about how the unaffordable prices of energy are affecting ordinary people.  Chairman Tipton at one point says that “I do not think that Americans truly realize the significant amount of energy that is necessary to be … Continue reading

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The Back to the Land Movement: why it failed and why we need to try again

[ This is my book review of “Back from the Land: how young Americans went to nature in the 1970s, and why they came back”.   Some succeeded, but most failed, and there are lessons to be learned from the previous … Continue reading

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Department of Energy algal biofuels roadmap: A summary

Preface. If you really want to get into the weeds about the details of why algal fuels have failed to produce biofuels, read this 140 page paper. Alice Friedemann  www.energyskeptic.com Women in ecology  author of 2021 Life After Fossil Fuels: … Continue reading

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Climate change impacts on transportation 2008 U.S. Senate hearing

Senate  110-1199. June 24, 2008. Climate change impacts on the transportation sector. U.S. Senate Hearing. Excerpts from this 135 page document follow. DANIEL K. INOUYE, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII The transportation sector is a major indicator of the overall economic … Continue reading

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Schlesinger predicts investments in 2006 will cause oil glut and denial of peak oil in future

Energy Security and Oil Dependence. Two Senate hearings from 2006. In these two 2006 hearings (excerpts below), there is a constant refrain of our dependence on oil,  yet now, many congressional hearings are about our energy independence.  Apparently congress has … Continue reading

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Most energy efficient: passenger bus, rail, or auto?

Preface. Weight reduces energy efficiency, so one way to make transportation more efficient is to light-weight rail cars, buses, trucks, and cars. For every 10% reduction in weight, up to 7.6% more fuel efficiency can be gained (Joost 2012). While … Continue reading

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U.S. Senate hearing on our aging water infrastructure

[ Even though conventional oil production has been on a plateau since 2005, there is no sense of alarm or urgency to try to fix infrastructure before oil is rationed and not enough exists to replace or repair it. Some … Continue reading

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How logistics facilitate an efficient freight transportation system 2013. U.S. House

[ It is alarming that at a time we are about to rollercoaster down the other side of Hubbert’s peak, continued growth is expected. Chairman Duncan states: “With our Nation’s population expected to exceed 400 million by 2050, freight volume … Continue reading

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