Author Archives: energyskeptic

New York Times: Global Bond Frenzy Raises Concerns

Global Bond Frenzy Raises Concerns Feb 19, 2014. Landon Thomas. New York Times Global bond investors have financed some of the most enormous projects ever taken on by emerging economies the past few years. Now growth is faltering in many … Continue reading

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Matt Simmons “Twilight in the Desert” Saudi Arabia oil: how much left?

Once the large fields peak in Saudi Arabia oil shocks will reverberate throughout the world Best up-to-date status of oil fields in Saudi Arabia. Ghawar is in decline, but 2 new fields filled in, once they’re in decline, there are … Continue reading

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Why neoclassical economics is wrong about energy (and just about everything else)

The Need to Reintegrate the Natural Sciences with Economics Neoclassical economics, the dominant form of economics today, has at least 3 fundamental flaws from the perspective of the natural sciences, but it is possible to develop a different, biophysical basis … Continue reading

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Wind & Solar need thousands of tons of steel, aluminum, cement, concrete, copper but produce little energy

Summary of Sergio Pacca and Darpa Horvath 2002 Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Building and Operating  Electric Power Plants in the Upper Colorado River Basin ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / VOL. 36, NO. 14 pp. 3194-3200 As you can see, Wind … Continue reading

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The Future of Humanity: a Lecture by Isaac Asimov

The Future of Humanity: a Lecture by Isaac Asimov Newark College of Engineering, November 8, 1974  http://www.asimovonline.com/oldsite/future_of_humanity.html [I’ve truncated most of this very long article] We wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in [if people weren’t stupid, illustrated with humorous … Continue reading

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How can you buy a farm when you’re competing with private equity?

Looks like it will be hard to buy a farm unless you’re wealth.  But in the crisis phase you don’t want to own a large farm anyhow… Half of U.S. Farmland Being Eyed by Private Equity February 19th, 2014.  By … Continue reading

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Mass Destruction from Derivatives HuffingtonPost

The Armageddon Looting Machine: The Looming Mass Destruction From Derivatives Sep 18, 2013. Ellen Brown. Increased regulation and low interest rates are driving lending from the regulated commercial banking system into the unregulated shadow banking system. The shadow banks, although … Continue reading

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Why cash is better than gold

Why people buy gold To protect against inflation That’s a good reason, but the next crash will be deflationary like the 2008 crash, when stocks, homes, oil, gold, and everything else plummeted in value. Trillions of dollars vanished overnight.  The … Continue reading

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Book review of Murderers in Mausoleums. Riding the back roads of empire between Moscow and Beijing

Book review of Murderers in Mausoleums. Riding the back roads of empire between Moscow and Beijing. Jeffrey Tayler. 2009. This was a very timely book to read while the crisis is unfolding now in the Ukraine. One of the reasons … Continue reading

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Bloomberg: Dream of U.S. Oil Independence Slams Against Shale Costs

Dream of U.S. Oil Independence Slams Against Shale Costs By Asjylyn Loder – Feb 26, 2014 The path toward U.S. energy independence, made possible by a boom in shale oil, will be much harder than it seems. Just a few of the roadblocks: Independent producers will spend … Continue reading

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