Author Archives: energyskeptic

How to fix our inland waterway system

Posted on January 25, 2022 by

Preface.  As you can see in Table 1 below, water transport is far more energy efficient than land transport, especially once we’re back to muscle power after fossil fuels are gone. Kilojoules of energy used to carry one ton of … Continue reading →

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Book review of “Halfway Home”. What happens after jail

Posted on January 22, 2022 by

Preface.  This book is about what happens to released prisoners. Many of the homeless you see on the street were prisoners who are on the street because landlords won’t rent to them, and their family won’t let them move in … Continue reading →

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Insect & other BioInvasions

Posted on January 19, 2022 by

Preface.  Invasive insects that have no predators in the U.S. can only be somewhat reduced with oil-based products that will grow scarcer as petroleum declines. Pesticides are made out of oil and damage the environment for many generations to come. … Continue reading →

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Richard Heinberg on what to do

Posted on January 13, 2022 by

Preface. I encourage you to read Heinberg’s entire “A simple way…” post. It is a great overview of history and how we came to this point of energy decline. And as usual, easy to read, clear, and wise as is … Continue reading →

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Methods to preserve knowledge for Wood world (Life After Fossil Fuels)

Posted on January 10, 2022 by

Preface.  My books “When Trucks Stop Running” and “Life after fossil fuels” explain why we are returning to wood as our major energy resource and for infrastructure, just like all civilizations before fossil fuels. I call it “Wood World”. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Preservation of Knowledge | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

USGS Groundwater Depletion study of aquifer decline in the U.S.

Posted on January 7, 2022 by

Preface. I summarize two major research papers on the state of the Ogallal below.  It and many other aquifers are depleting rapidly, and polluted from pesticides, feedlot waste, intruding salts, and other pollution. Rainfall isn’t replenishing the Ogallala. Many won’t … Continue reading →

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Toxic chemicals threaten health, reproduction, cause cancer, diabetes

Posted on January 4, 2022 by

Preface.  This post could have thousands more entries, but devoting energyskeptic to the tens of thousands of chemicals that are legally polluting our environment would be a full-time job. However scary the transition from fossils back to wood world may … Continue reading →

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Your life and the economy depend on biodiversity

Posted on January 1, 2022 by

Preface. We are trained in school, newspapers, and TV to view the world politically and economically. Not ecologically.  The World Economic Forum article below is an excellent summary of why biodiversity is so important, as much as climate change, which … Continue reading →

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Solar panels in the Sahara could cause global warming

Posted on December 23, 2021 by

Preface. Adding tens of thousands of square miles of solar panels to replace fossil fuels could cause climate change and heat up the planet. Of course this is a fantasy, dust storms would scour the panels rendering them useless, with … Continue reading →

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Freshwater fish under threat of extinction

Posted on December 20, 2021 by

Preface. A third of freshwater fish are under threat from pollution, over fishing, dams, non-native species, climate change, disruption of river ecology and more.  Alice Friedemann  www.energyskeptic.com  Author of Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy; When … Continue reading →

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