Author Archives: energyskeptic

Paul Chefurka: A really nasty oscillating decline, wirth steep falls & desperate partial recoveries

“Approaching the Limits to Growth” is the name of my site, given before I was convinced we were already at the limits. I now recognize that we are past them, and that there was really no way to avoid ending … Continue reading

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Peak fossil fuels means global warming less than projected

This Science article states we could emit CO2 at the same rate we are now for another 50 years before going over the 2 degrees Celsius level we need to avoid a runaway greenhouse.  Since we are at peak world fossil … Continue reading

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Stephen Hawking: Escape to another planet before we go extinct

The only method of propulsion we have to escape the planet is, you guessed it, fossil fuels, and they don’t come anywhere near to getting us to the speed of light necessary to get to even the closest star. Nor … Continue reading

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Science book review of Vaclav Smil’s “Approaching the Limits”

Steven W. Running  Science 15 March 2013: Vol. 339 no. 6125 pp. 1276-1277 DOI: 10.1126/science.1235886 Approaching the Limits Harvesting the Biosphere What We Have Taken from Nature by Vaclav Smil MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2012. 315 pp. $29, £19.95. ISBN … Continue reading

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China is working on cyber attacks of our infrastructure and stealing secrets

Stone, R. March 1, 2013.  A Call to Cyber Arms. Science, Vol. 339 no. 6123 pp. 1026-1027 China’s extensive cyber research activities and allegations over cyber espionage have put the United States on high alert. The U.S. government is ramping … Continue reading

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Ground water declining at an alarming rate in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey

[ Lack of water in this region is destabilizing and thus could affect oil production as desperate populations migrate, civil wars, and social unrest unfold.  Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, … Continue reading

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China food security: climate change likely to reduce rice, wheat, and other crop yields

Climate change is also likely to lower wheat production:  Global warming will have a bad effect on heat-sensitive wheat, slashing yields even more than was originally feared.  It could be much harder than we thought to feed everyone in a … Continue reading

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Soot warming earth even more than thought

Richard A. Kerr Science 25 January 2013: Vol. 339 no. 6118 p. 382 DOI: 10.1126/science.339.6118.382 Soot Is Warming the World Even More Than Thought A new study finds that soot is warming the climate about twice as fast as scientists … Continue reading

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Climate Change deadlines: the longer we do nothing, the worse it gets

Thomas F. Stocker Science 18 January 2013: Vol. 339 no. 6117 pp. 280-282 DOI: 10.1126/science.1232468 The Closing Door of Climate Targets Robust evidence from a range of climate–carbon cycle models shows that the maximum warming relative to pre-industrial times caused … Continue reading

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Climate change is causing increased salinity in water and soil world-wide

November 23, 2012. Climate Change–Induced Salinity Threatens Health.  Science Vol 338: 1028-1029 Sea-level rise, storm surges, and cyclones exacerbated by climate change have begun to severely affect coasts and river estuaries in low-income countries. The resulting increased salinity in soil … Continue reading

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