Author Archives: energyskeptic

Energy Slaves: Every American has 200 to 8,000 or more

Preface.  The range of 200 to 8,000 comes from the articles below. Perhaps even more. Former Navy Admiral Rickover wrote in 1957 that it takes at least 2,000 men to push an automobile along the road, a locomotive engineer controls … Continue reading

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Antonio Turiel: Explaining Peak Oil the Easy Way

Preface. Turiel writes an excellent blog “The oil crash” at http://crashoil.blogspot.com. Turiel explains eloquently why the amount of oil will decline even though there are vast pools of oil left underground. If you read my book “When trucks stop running”, … Continue reading

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Shale gas is only good for plastics, not transportation fuels

Preface. The oil industry is making more plastic because electric cars have cut gasoline use, but because shale “fracked” gas is so light plastic is about the only use. It is not a transportation fuel that can save us from … Continue reading

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1688 Tons of material to build just 1 windmill

Preface.  There must be many high wind locations that wind turbine blades can’t be transported to, limiting how many could be built even with a trillion dollar budget. Clearly wind turbines aren’t renewable when you consider the vast amounts of … Continue reading

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Invasive weeds threaten crops

Preface.  Invasive weeds will make growing food harder when fossils are gone, since pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides are made with petroleum as a feedstock. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy”, … Continue reading

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Peak Phosphorus

Sources: Peak phosphorus curve indicating a peak in production by 2033, derived from US Geological Survey and industry data. Cordell, D.; Drangert, J.-O.; White, S. The story of phosphorus: Global food security and food for thought. Glob. Environ. Change 2009, … Continue reading

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The rich live longer than the poor. At least 14% of wealth is hidden in tax havens

Preface. No surprises here. With peak oil close at hand, I can’t see universal healthcare and other safety nets enacted, just more and more taken away.  It is so shameful the U.S. doesn’t take care of its people, it is … Continue reading

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Toxic Loans Around the World Weigh on Global Growth

Preface.  Obviously endless growth on a finite planet is impossible.  Clearly the main “benefit” of debt is being able to rape and pillage the planet immediately.  The accumulating debt can never be paid off, because energy is required to grow … Continue reading

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Paul Chefurka: More thoughts on Sustainability

The critical feature of sustainability isn’t how many people can be supported by the planet at any given moment in time. Rather, it is the number of humans that could live here without irreparably damaging the biosphere we depend on … Continue reading

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Tuna fishery threatened

Preface.  Both the sardine and tuna fisheries are threatened. Only peak oil and decline can possibly save them from extinction. Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer, Barriers to Making … Continue reading

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