Author Archives: energyskeptic

Book review of “Democracy in Chains”, the history of how extremist Republicans stealthily stole our Democracy

Preface.  I can’t do justice to this book in a book review (so buy it), especially the history of how the right-wing libertarians came to be so powerful, their huge influence on congress, the judiciary, and laws enacted, and how … Continue reading

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Net Energy Cliff & the Collapse of Civilization

figure 1. The remaining oil is poor quality, and the energy to get this often remote oil so great that more and more energy (blue) goes into oil production itself, leaving far less — the grey area — available to … Continue reading

Posted in 2) Overshoot, An Overview, Energy, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Peak Oil, Stages of | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Giant oil field decline rates, peak oil, & reserves

Preface. Of the roughly 47,500 oil fields in the world, 507 of them, about 1%, are giant oil fields holding nearly two-thirds of all the oil that has ever been, or ever will be produced, with the largest 100 giants, … Continue reading

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Book review of “Surveillance State”

Preface. China hopes to nip rebellion in the bud before a revolution takes place by excessive monitoring and then respond quickly with improvements to prevent one. And show the world their system is better than democracy. But then there is … Continue reading

Posted in Political Books | Tagged , | 1 Comment

How Christians were manipulated by Pat Robertson into becoming right-wing Republicans

This is a book review is of “The Gospel of self: How Jesus Joined the GOP.” It was written by an evangelical Christian for evangelical Christians to show them how he, as the senior producer of Pat Robertson’s “The 700 … Continue reading

Posted in Critical Thinking, Critical Thinking and Scientific Literacy, Human Nature, Pat Robertson, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hydrogen. The dumbest renewable

Preface. This post originally appeared in Skeptic Magazine in 2008 as “The Hydrogen Economy. Savior of Humanity or an Economic Black Hole?” I’ve updated it quite a bit since then. Hydrogen is the stupidest, most ridiculous, and most impossible energy … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Energy, Hydrogen, Pipeline, Ships and Barges, Trucks | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Why large projects fail. Especially Renewable Energy

Megaprojects over $1 billion in order of likelihood to go over budget and timeline Preface.  This is a book review of Flyvbjerg et al “How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from … Continue reading

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Infrastructure Books, Interdependencies, Supply Chains | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Why large projects fail. Especially Renewable Energy

Menhaden: the fish at the bottom of the ocean food web

Preface. Oil has allowed us to extract 90% of the fish in the ocean by being able to go to the ends of the earth using sonar and spotting planes to find the last schools. Menhaden have been overfished for … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Fisheries, Jobs and Skills, Starvation | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

69 Reasons why wind turbines cannot replace fossil fuels

Source: Leonard, T. 2012. Broken down and rusting, is this the future of Britain’s ‘wind rush’? Preface   Last updated 2025-5-13 The most important problem to be solved is electrifying transportation, otherwise how can you deliver the 30,000 parts of a … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Energy, Wind | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Colonization of Mars & The Moon: a book review of “A City On Mars”

Preface. There are so many difficulties to overcome to colonize Mars. If the astronauts can even survive the bombardment of radiation on the way there. Where would the energy come from? There is no flowing water for hydropower. Wind and … Continue reading

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