Author Archives: energyskeptic

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

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

Book review of Jaczko’s “Confessions of a rogue nuclear regulator”

Preface. After presenting a lot of evidence for why nuclear power plants are inherently unsafe, Jaczko concludes: “There is only one logical answer: we must stop generating nuclear waste, and that means we must stop using nuclear power. You would … Continue reading

Posted in Nuclear Books, Nuclear Power Collapse, Nuclear Power Energy, Nuclear spent fuel fire | Tagged | 3 Comments

The global threat of invasive species to marine biodiversity

Preface.  Although I consider peak oil to be the largest threat, since all other resources and economic activities depend on it, we’re faced with a convergence of hundreds of other problems enabled by fossil fuels, which caused the the huge … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, BioInvasion | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Utility scale energy storage has a long way to go to make renewables possible

What follows comes from my book “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation” , which is also where you’ll find the references backing up what I’ve written below. I often get letters from people about energy breakthroughs … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, Batteries, Battery - Utility Scale, Critical Thinking, Electric Grid & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Electricity Infrastructure, Renewable Integration | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Concrete: the most destructive material on Earth

Preface. Some of the points I found most alarming or interesting: After water, concrete is the most widely used substance on Earth. Concrete is a thirsty behemoth, sucking up almost a 10th of the world’s industrial water use. This often … Continue reading

Posted in Concrete, Infrastructure & Collapse | Tagged | 7 Comments

Civilizations last just 336 years on average

Preface. I stopped trying to find out why each civilization failed because it’s not always clear and historians bicker over it, so I was glad to run across this article that attempts to summarize this broad topic. It’s clear drought, … Continue reading

Posted in Cambridge Centre Study of Existential Risk, Collapsed & collapsing nations, Scientists Warnings to Humanity | Tagged | 4 Comments

Part 1. How long do civilizations last?

This is most, but not all of Kemp’s BBC article, which you ought to read in its entirety at the link in the title below.  I disagree with him when he says that: “The collapse of our civilization is not … Continue reading

Posted in Collapsed & collapsing nations, Interdependencies, Scientists Warnings to Humanity | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Book review: the stranger in the woods. The extraordinary story of the last true hermit

Preface.  On March 16, 2020 it was announced that the residents of most San Francisco Bay Area counties were expected to shelter in place for a few weeks to stop the Covid-19 pandemic.   Three weeks?  You can do it, Christopher … Continue reading

Posted in (Auto)biography, Real Estate | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Replacing diesel tractors with horses or oxen – what will that be like?

Preface. Since fossil fuels are finite, at some point increasing numbers of farmers with diesel vehicles and equipment will want to replace them with horses, which can do the work of six people.  Below is what  energy expert Vaclav Smil … Continue reading

Posted in Farming & Ranching, Life Before Oil, Muscle Power, Peak Food, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Fish scraps could power some cruise ships by 2021

Preface.  Some black humor for those following energy descent. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer and “Crunch! Whole Grain Artisan Chips and Crackers”. Podcasts:  KunstlerCast 253, KunstlerCast278, Peak Prosperity] … Continue reading

Posted in Far Out | Tagged , , | 1 Comment