Author Archives: energyskeptic

Groundwater rise. Yet another climate change threat.

Posted on June 20, 2019 by

Preface. In coastal areas flooding is likely to be caused from groundwater rise because as sea levels rise, they won’t only move inland, flooding low-lying land near the shore; but also push water up from the saltwater water table, on … Continue reading →

Posted in Floods, Groundwater, Hazardous Waste, Sea Level Rise, Water Infrastructure | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Nafeez Ahmed: Venezuela’s collapse is a window into how the Oil Age will unravel

Posted on June 17, 2019 by

Preface. Ahmed is one of the best writers on the energy crisis and other biophysical calamities. He’s written about why many states are failing now in part due to peak oil, but also drought and other biophysical factors in his … Continue reading →

Posted in Peak Oil, Tar Sands (Oil Sands), Venezuela | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Climate change effects on hydropower in California

Posted on June 14, 2019 by

Preface. Climate change will impact California agriculture without the snow melt that allows for up to three crops to be grown a year, perhaps just one crop in the future. Not to mention the impact on the 40 million people … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Climate Change, Hydropower | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Hydropower can’t help with the energy crisis

Posted on June 11, 2019 by

Preface. When fossil fuels are gone, there aren’t many ways to balance the unreliable, intermittent, and often absent for weeks at a time power from wind and solar.  Biofuels and burning biomass is one solution, it’s dispatchable and can kick … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Energy, Hydropower | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

High-Tech can’t last: limited essential elements with limited lifespans

Posted on June 8, 2019 by

There are 17 rare earth elements in the periodic table. About nine of those elements go into every iPhone sold… and if China were suddenly to disappear from a map tomorrow, Apple would lose about 90% of those elements.  Source: … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Cascading Failure, Microchips and computers, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Rare Earth Elements, Supply Chains | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Black starting the grid after a power outage

Posted on June 5, 2019 by

Black starts Large blackouts can be quite devastating and it isn’t easy to restart the electric grid again. This is typically done by designated black start units of natural gas, coal, hydro, or nuclear power plants that can restart themselves … Continue reading →

Posted in Grid instability | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Rare Earth: Why complex life is uncommon in the universe

Posted on June 2, 2019 by

Preface. So much research on why complex life is rare in the universe has come out since this book I’ve created another post: Rare Earth updates: recent research on why intelligent life is probably rare in the Universe. And intelligent … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Biodiversity Loss, Evolution, Human Nature, Life Before Oil | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Threats to America’s oil pipeline grid

Posted on May 30, 2019 by

Preface. At some point of energy decline there will be Americans who tap into pipelines to get scarce oil for themselves and to sell it on black markets. Just look at the massive amount of oil being stolen in Nigeria … Continue reading →

Posted in Fuel Distribution, Oil & Gas, Terrorism | Tagged | 1 Comment

Vanishing open spaces: population growth and sprawl in America

Posted on May 27, 2019 by

  Preface.  Before the fossil fuel age began, about 80 to 90% of people farmed to make a living. Since the end of the oil age will send us back to the past, farmland and farmers will once again comprise … Continue reading →

Posted in Overpopulation, Peak Food, Soil | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Book review of Mikhail’s “The beekeeper: rescuing the stolen women of Iraq”

Posted on May 24, 2019 by

Preface. This is a gruesome post you may want to skip. My main interest in this book was what will happen to the hundreds of millions forced to flee in the future because of the crash of civilization as oil … Continue reading →

Posted in Collapse of Civilizations, Mass migrations, Middle East, Refugee Camps, Social Disorder, Terrorism | Tagged , , | 8 Comments