Author Archives: energyskeptic

Book review of Wrigley’s “Energy and the English Industrial revolution”

Preface. I’ve made a strong case in my book “When trucks stop running” and this energyskeptic website that we will eventually return to wood and a 14th century lifestyle after fossil fuels are depleted. So if you’re curious about what … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Energy Books, Farming & Ranching, Life Before Oil, Limits To Growth | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Ugo Bardi: “Energy Dominance,” what does it mean? Decoding a Fashionable Slogan

Preface.  A very good article about energy and war, explains a lot about how the world really works. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer and “Crunch! Whole Grain Artisan … Continue reading

Posted in Over Oil, Ugo Bardi | Tagged , | 1 Comment

California’s central valley aquifers may be gone in 2030s, Ogallala 2050-2070

Preface. Clearly the human population isn’t going to reach 10 billion or more. California grows one-third of the nation’s food, the 10 high-plains states over the Ogallala about a quarter of the nations food, and exports a great deal of … Continue reading

Posted in Groundwater, Peak Water, Water Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on California’s central valley aquifers may be gone in 2030s, Ogallala 2050-2070

Book review of “The Soul of an Octopus”

Preface.  The octopus is an amazing creature, more than can be conveyed in the bits and pieces I’ve selected below.  The only downside to reading it is that you may not want to eat octopus anymore! 2018: A team of … Continue reading

Posted in Natural History | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Rare: The High-Stakes Race to Satisfy Our Need for the Scarcest Metals on Earth by Keith Veronese

Preface.  This is a book review of Keith Veronese’s book “The High-stakes race to satisfy our need for the scarcest metals on earth” (well, the kindle notes, so a bit disjointed). Capitalism believes there’s a solution for everything due to … Continue reading

Posted in Infrastructure Books, Mining, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Platinum Group Elements, Peak Precious Elements, Peak Rare Earth Elements, Peak Resources | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Book review of Bryce’s “Power hungry: the myths of green energy and the real fuels of the future”

Preface.  This is a book review of: Robert Bryce. 2009. Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future. This is a brilliant book, very funny at times, a great way to sharpen your critical … Continue reading

Posted in Energy Books, Other Experts | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Book review of Heinberg’s “Afterburn: society beyond fossil fuels”

Preface. This book has 15 essays Heinberg wrote from 2011 to 2014, many of them available for free online.  These are some of my Kindle notes of parts that interested me, so to you it will be disjointed and perhaps … Continue reading

Posted in Energy Books, Peak Oil, Richard Heinberg | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Why and how Jellyfish are taking over the world

Preface.  The more climate change kicks in, the more we over-fish, pollute, acidify and warm the ocean, create vast dead zones, and trawl ocean bottoms, the better the jellyfish do. It is quite possible that the ocean ecosystem will shift … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Extinction Books, Fisheries, Jellyfish, Peak Food | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Book review of Dirt: the erosion of civilization

Preface. On average civilizations collapsed after 800 to 2,000 years because they’d destroyed their topsoil, some of it caused by deforestation to grow more food, make metals, ceramics, glass and other objects requiring high heat, which fossils provide today. Today, … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Peak Food, Soil | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Why aren’t there battery powered airplanes or flying cars?

Preface.  Batteries are too heavy for airplanes to get off the ground. Though that hasn’t stopped people from trying: Norway’s new electric plane crashes during demo flight (Robitzski 2019) The two articles below explain why. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of … Continue reading

Posted in Batteries, Energy | Tagged , , | 4 Comments