Author Archives: energyskeptic

Military Threats: Peak oil, population, climate change, pandemics, economic crises, cyberattacks, failed states, nuclear war

Mackintosh C (2010) Peak Oil “The debate is over”. Permaculture research institute. https://www.permaculturenews.org/2010/11/10/peak-oil-the-debate-is-over/ Preface. The military is more realistic about the challenges the world faces than congress or other branches and government agencies. In 2010, all of the military branches … Continue reading

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Skyscrapers: A bad idea as energy declines

Preface. One reason Paris is such a lovely city is that it was built to human scale, with buildings of five stories or less, because that was about as high as people were willing to climb, so not surprisingly, rents … Continue reading

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Book review of Turchin’s “Secular Cycles” and “War & Peace & War”

Preface. This is a book review of both “Secular Cycles” and “War & Peace & War”.  I recommend reading “War & Peace & War” first, then the more difficult “Secular Cycles”. Turchin has found patterns in the rise and fall … Continue reading

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Energy and potato crops. U.S. House Hearing 2011

Preface. We eat so many potatoes I thought it interesting how future oil shocks may reduce potato crops. Potatoes are very “oily” needing a great deal of diesel fuel over their life cycle of planting, harvest, delivery to sorting, grading, … Continue reading

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Joseph Romm: we’re stealing from the next 100 billion people to walk the earth

Source: Lu (2021) Visualized: The Biggest Ponzi Schemes in Modern History. Visual Capitalist Preface. Joseph Romm writes that the exponential growth Ponzi Scheme is consuming the resources of the next 100 billion people. Our children and grandchildren.  Romm’s post was … Continue reading

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Prime movers of human evolution

Preface. The human brain and culture evolved at an astonishing rate, making scientists wonder what conditions and ecological pressures drove it, why we became homo sapiens so quickly. This is a post that will grow over time as I find … Continue reading

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Review of Lights out: the electricity crisis, the global economy, and what it means to you

Preface. My books and energyskeptic.com explain why the electric grid can’t stay up.  This is a book review of Makansi’s “Lights out: the electricity crisis, the global economy, and what it means to you”. He explains why the grid is … Continue reading

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Delay, Deny, Defend: Why insurance companies don’t pay claims

This is a post about disaster insurance, and our own nightmare experience in dealing with the insurance company after our house burned down in the 1991 Oakland California firestorm.  Plus a book review of Feinman’s 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend: … Continue reading

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California Governor Newsom goes furthest to soften collapse of any U.S. state

Preface. In September 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom passed 12 bills making abortion easier to obtain, and invites women from states where abortion is forbidden to come here.

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Collapse of Mayan civilization: drought, mercury poisoning, toxic algae

Preface. Drought is probably reason #1, but collapse is complex, I’ve seen lists of over 200 reasons for the Fall of the Roman Empire, and our own fall will have even more causes, though triggered by energy decline, since for … Continue reading

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