Author Archives: energyskeptic

Geography, Resources, & the Destiny of Nations

Preface. Jared Diamond’s famous book “Guns, Germs, and Steel” discussed why some nations were so much more successful than others. Much success came from nearby nations who bootstrapped each other up with new ideas, crops, and ideas. Especially Eurasia due … Continue reading

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DOGE could have been great. Instead it blew everything up

Preface.  You may remember that a movement called “Code for America” founded in 2009, used technology to improve government services and make them more efficient and accessible.  This post is a book review of Pahlka’s 2023 “Recoding America” about how … Continue reading

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Aside

Preface. After seeing the film “The Power of Community: How Cuba survived Peak Oil” in 2006, I thought about how those lessons might apply to California, which grows about a third of U.S. food.  Much of what follows in the … Continue reading

The Nuclear Bomb is Back!

Preface. If you are not worried about nuclear war anymore, you should be. We have accidentally come close so many times.

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Nuclear power is not the solution

Preface. This is a book review of Ramana’s “Nuclear is not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change.” A great overview that covers many topics, one of the best out there, and most recent. … Continue reading

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Refrigeration uses up to 30% of world electricity

Preface. This is a book review of Twilley’s 2024 book Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves. It is a really great book, highly recommended. Refrigeration plays a much larger role in our lives than people realize. … Continue reading

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Government of Canada: Disruptions coming!

Preface. Just in case you do not have enough worries, the Government of Canada has stepped in to help you out with potential future catastrophes. And there are dozens, perhaps a new one to add to your list, such as: People … Continue reading

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CCS plants leak, catch on fire, explode, corrode, and contaminate water

Source: Center for Progressive reform (2024) Carbon Dioxide Leak in Decatur, IL, Demonstrates Dangerous Failure of Carbon Capture Storage and Sequestration Preface. Clearly it is not worth spending billions of dollars to sequester CO2 “permanently” if it may leak. It’s … Continue reading

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Peak food production happened, how will we feed 2-3 billion more?

Preface. Also see related article Limits to Growth? 2016 United Nations report provides best evidence yet. Nichols (2015) below shows that climate change is already affecting harvests of the world’s top 10 crops that comprise 83% of our calories: barley, … Continue reading

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Chemical industrial farming does not work: Pests evolve immunity quickly

Pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides destroy soil and ecosystems. Yet a third of crops are lost to pests just as in the many millennia of farming before chemicals Preface. This is a book review of Dyer’s “Chasing the Red Queen”, and … Continue reading

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