Author Archives: energyskeptic

University of Minnesota syllabus for HSEM 2624H “Sustainability or Collapse? An Interdisciplinary Overview of the Human Predicament”

HSEM 2624H  –  (PROVISIONAL) SYLLABUS “Sustainability or Collapse? An Interdisciplinary Overview of the Human Predicament”  —or–  “Humans, Our Environment and the Future: A Survey of Opportunities and Constraints” Instructors: Dr. Nathan John Hagens, Dr. Kathryn Draeger This class will provide … Continue reading

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What Happens When Weed Killers Stop Killing?

Robert F. Service. September 20, 2013. What Happens When Weed Killers Stop Killing?  Science (341):1329 “U.S. farmers are heading for a crisis,” says Stephen Powles of the University of Western Australia, Crawley. Powles is an expert on herbicide resistance, a … Continue reading

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Dmitry Orlov Definancialisation, deglobalisation and relocalisation

Definancialisation, deglobalisation and relocalisation by Dmitry Orlov. Sep 2, 2011. Fleeing Vesuvius. Some excerpts: Collapse without preparation is a defeat. Collapse with preparation is an eccentricity. I concede that the choice is a difficult one: either we wait for circumstances … Continue reading

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Energy production requires a LOT of water

Energy and water – the real blue-chips August 20, 2011 by Nate Hagens and Kenneth Mulder Some excerpts from this article: The 2 most important natural resources are water and energy. In most cases, each is required to procure the … Continue reading

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On the cusp of collapse: complexity, energy, and the globalised economy

On the cusp of collapse: complexity, energy, and the globalised economy by David Koriwicz, 2011. Fleeing Vesuvius The systems on which we rely for our financial transactions, food, fuel and livelihoods are so inter-dependent that they are better regarded as … Continue reading

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Fleeing Vesuvius Overcoming the Risks of Economic and Enviromental Collapse

Fleeing Vesuvius.  Overcoming the Risks of Economic and Enviromental Collapse   This book has many ideas about what to do across many spheres. Escape routes: Fleeing Vesuvius – which way should we go?  summarizes the “what to do” conclusions of … Continue reading

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Money – what is it?

The following are good articles to read about what money really is The supply of money in an energy-scarce world  2011. Richard Douthwaite. Summary of this article: Money has no value unless it can be exchanged for goods and services … Continue reading

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Twenty (Important) Concepts I Wasn’t Taught in Business School – Part I

Twenty (Important) Concepts I Wasn’t Taught in Business School – Part I by Nate Hagens  September 20, 2013   theoildrum This article is full of great writing, charts, graphs, and illustrations, and explains quite well why nature and energy are our … Continue reading

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William Rees: Culture and behavior: The human nature of unsustainability

Read the full report:»  Download the PDF (1 MB) William Rees.  (2011) The Unsustainability Conundrum. Post Carbon Institute In 1992 the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) issued the following gloomy assessment of the prospects for civilization: We the undersigned, senior … Continue reading

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Society is fragile and vulnerable compared to 1930s, more prone to collapse

Oct 27, 2008. James Wesley, Rawles. The Depression of the 1930s–Why No Societal Collapse? survivalblog.com There are some substantial differences between our society in the early 21st Century, and America in the 1930s. With these differences, our society is now much … Continue reading

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