Author Archives: energyskeptic

From wood to fossil fueled civilizations — the greatest tragedy mankind will ever know

Posted on April 23, 2018 by

Preface. These are my notes from this book about how we went from an organic sustainable economy to a temporary fossil-fueled one.  It’s one of the few books I’ve found that explains what life was like before fossil fuels in … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Life Before Oil, Supply Chains | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Can the lights be kept on with distributed generation? 2015 U.S. House hearing on a reliable electric system

Posted on April 20, 2018 by

Preface.  Corporate speakers testify mainly, rather than less biased researchers from universities or national laboratories. Corporations are selling a product, and likely to exaggerate what their product can do. The most interesting testimony is from Dean Kamen, who is “selling” … Continue reading →

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Why facts don’t change our mind

Posted on April 17, 2018 by

Preface. Below are excerpts from this article.  Longish descriptions of various studies at Stanford and elsewhere lead to conclusions such as that once formed, impressions are remarkably perserverant, and even after the evidence for their beliefs has been totally refuted, … Continue reading →

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Why it is futile to think that Wind could ever make a significant contribution to energy supplies

Posted on April 8, 2018 by

Matt Ridley. May 15, 2017. Wind turbines are neither clean nor green and they provide zero global energy. Even after 30 years of huge subsidies, it provides about zero energy. The Spectator. The Global Wind Energy Council recently released its … Continue reading →

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Richard Heinberg on why low oil prices do not mean there is plenty of oil, EROI, collapse

Posted on April 5, 2018 by

[ Yet another wise, thoughtful, and wide-ranging essay from my favorite writer of the many facets of a civilization about to decline as it is starved of the fossil fuels that feed it.  Although the topics are quite varied, Heinberg … Continue reading →

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Oil theft around the world: Cartels and exploding donkeys

Posted on April 4, 2018 by

Preface. Oil thefts cost Nigerian oil producers at least $18 billion a year. In Mexico, cartels spend only $5-8,000 to tap into pipelines and withdraw “unlimited” amounts of gasoline, and did so 7,000 times in 2016, resulting in $1 billion … Continue reading →

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How horses changed native cultures after 1492

Posted on April 2, 2018 by

[ This is a very brief overview of Peter Mitchel’s “Horse Nations”.  As oil and other fossils decline, will we will almost certainly return to using more horse “muscle power” as we did in the past. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author … Continue reading →

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Preventing economic shock wave: Securing the port of Houston from a terrorist attack

Posted on March 29, 2018 by

                    [ An attack on (LNG) ships, oil tankers, or the Houston port facilities Houston would cause an oil shock, since a third of oil refining takes place there, and it’s … Continue reading →

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Wells Fargo created bogus bank accounts and credit cards without customer knowledge, billed them millions

Posted on March 26, 2018 by

[ I know this is “old news” from 2016, but the drawback of newspapers is that stories aren’t repeated.  What an insane level of corruption we’ve reached! Just look at the financial book list I haven’t yet posted at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Banking | Comments Off on Wells Fargo created bogus bank accounts and credit cards without customer knowledge, billed them millions

We Must Preserve The Earth’s Dwindling Resources For My 5 Children

Posted on March 23, 2018 by

Brenda Milford. June 28, 2006. We Must Preserve The Earth’s Dwindling Resources For My 5 Children. The Onion. Vol 44 Issue 27 “As we move into the 21st century, it is our responsibility to think of the future of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Population | Tagged , | 4 Comments