Author Archives: energyskeptic

Catton on Collapse “Bottleneck: Humanity’s Impending Impasse”

Posted on April 14, 2026 by

Preface. Below is a very short summary of a book written by the founding father of human ecology, William R Catton Jr called Bottleneck: Humanity’s impending Impass written in 2009.  His first book in 1980, Overshoot, introduced basic concepts of … Continue reading →

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Book Review of Grain Brain: Extraordinary claim not backed up by evidence

Posted on April 7, 2026 by

This is my book review of David Perlmutter’s (2013) Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar–Your Brain’s Silent Killers. At the New York Times, this book was the #1 best seller in the Dining list and #9 … Continue reading →

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Why did everyone stop talking about Population & Immigration?

Posted on March 31, 2026 by

Preface. This post summarizes the top 26 reasons why population growth was abandoned the past 50 years. Further reasons can be found in Beck & Kolankiewicz (2000) “The Environmental Movement’s Retreat from Advocating U.S. Population Stabilization” and Weisman’s “Countdown: Our … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Climate Change, Deforestation, Disease, Overpopulation, Pesticides, Pollution, Population, Transportation, Water Pollution, Wildfire | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

What would happen if trucks stopped running?

Posted on March 24, 2026 by

Preface. In “Why You Should Love Trucks” I showed that essential supply chains depend on trucks nearly completely.  Because of little inventory and dependence on just-in-time deliveries, our civilization would almost immediately feel the repercussions of trucks stopping. In fact, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cascading Failure, Dependence on Oil, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Oil Shocks, Transportation Infrastructure, Transportation Supply chain, Trucks, When Trucks Stop Running | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

How to survive a nuclear winter

Posted on March 17, 2026 by

Preface. New Zealand and other countries in the southern hemisphere are expected to be safer since they are far from nuclear targets. But they would still experience extreme temperature drops and less sunlight, though less than the Northern hemisphere.  Still, there … Continue reading →

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The insect apocalypse will kill billions more people than climate change

Posted on March 10, 2026 by

  Preface. Below are excerpts from two articles on why and how the extinction of insects could lead to our own extinction and many other species. Although climate change is more deadly now, an insect apocalypse will kill far more … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Extinction, Scientists Warnings to Humanity | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

The war on drugs. A book review of “Chasing the scream”

Posted on March 3, 2026 by

Preface. The founder of the War on Drugs in the U.S., Harry Anslinger, wanted to build as large a bureaucracy as possible. But a war on narcotics alone—cocaine and heroin, outlawed in 1914—wasn’t enough. They were used only by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Corruption, Drug wars and the prison system | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Peak crude oil did not happen in 2018. But we are running out of time

Posted on February 17, 2026 by

Preface.   Using EIA International Data for world crude oil + condensate oil monthly production to compare January through October in 2024 and 2025, it looks like about 850 million more barrels will be produced in 2025 than in 2024.  And … Continue reading →

Posted in Debt, How Much Left, Peak Oil | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Sheriffs have too much power

Posted on February 10, 2026 by

Preface. In August 2017 President Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio for disobeying a 2011 court order that barred his deputies from detaining people based on their immigration status. He was found guilty of continuing these traffic patrols for 18 months after … Continue reading →

Posted in Drug wars and the prison system, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Book review “They poisoned the world: Life & death in the age of Forever Chemicals”

Posted on February 3, 2026 by

Preface. This is a book review of Blake’s 2025 They Poisoned the World: Life & Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals. This is a history of how the existential threat of PFAs and other forever chemicals came to be. … Continue reading →

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