Author Archives: energyskeptic

Super Rust Corrodes hundreds of ships and could sink the oil industry

Posted on October 4, 2014 by

Blame it on super-rust, a virulent form of corrosion that has destroyed hundreds of ships and could sink the oil industry. By Richard Martin, June 2002. Wired Magazine. Key points (see the full article at http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/10.06/superrust.html): Ships that cost hundreds … Continue reading →

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Moving oil by ship or barge to refineries

Posted on October 2, 2014 by

Frittelli, J., et al. May 5, 2014. U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil: Background and Issues for Congress. Congressional Research Service. Barge One river barge can hold 10,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil. Two to three river barges are typically … Continue reading →

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Thorium in the news

Posted on October 1, 2014 by

[ When trucks stop running, civilization as we know it ends.  Nuclear electricity — or anything that generates electricity — doesn’t matter a rat’s ass if trucks can’t be electrified to run on batteries or overhead wires — especially tractors … Continue reading →

Posted in Thorium | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Out of time: 50 years to make a transition, 210 years at the current rate

Posted on September 30, 2014 by

If transportation is to be electrified, then electric generation and the electric grid must be doubled, or even tripled. So by Cobb’s calculation, that would push back the transition time to renewables 420 to 630 years.  Alice Friedemann. By Kurt … Continue reading →

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Why You Should Love Trucks

Posted on September 27, 2014 by

source: bitsandpieces1.blogspot.com Preface. Before the age of fossil fuels, getting food, water, and shelter was simple. Nine out of ten people were self-sufficient farmers. But now there are global 24/7 just-in-time supply chains that depend on trucks and other modes … Continue reading →

Posted in Trucks | 4 Comments

Two-thirds of coal to power sector delivered by railroads

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

June 11, 2014  U.S. Energy Information Administration www.eia.gov Railroad deliveries continue to provide the majority of coal shipments to the power sector Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-923, Power Plant Operations Report Note: Sum of components may not equal … Continue reading →

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Fuel economy improvements show diminishing returns in fuel savings

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

This means it’s unlikely we’ll turn over the vehicle fleet fast enough to make a difference in fuel consumption.  Which wouldn’t have happened anyhow due to Jevon’s paradox. July 11, 2014 Fuel economy improvements show diminishing returns in fuel savings … Continue reading →

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EIA definition of Proved Reserves and Resources

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

July 17, 2014 Oil and natural gas resource categories reflect varying degrees of certainty Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration Note: Resource categories are not drawn to scale relative to the actual size of each resource category. The graphic shown above … Continue reading →

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Signs of Peakiness, oil companies are running out of cash

Posted on August 29, 2014 by

Andrew Nikiforuk, August 29, 2014. A big summer story you missed: Soaring oil debt. The Tyee.  Over 100 of the world’s largest energy companies are running out of cash. Photo of Keystone pipeline in Nebraska by Shannon Ramos. Creative Commons … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt, Energy Markets, Peak Oil | 1 Comment

Navy claims that fuel can be made from seawater

Posted on August 27, 2014 by

It must take more energy to break the bonds of water, extract CO2, and recombine into usable fuel than you will ever get out of fuel so produced.  We’ve known for a long time how to split hydrogen from water. … Continue reading →

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