Author Archives: energyskeptic

By 2020 it may be clear to everyone that oil decline has begun

Posted on February 7, 2018 by

Preface. There are two parts to Dittmar’s study. The first one concerns production, based on the most recent years of oil production.  Dittmar found a strong pattern of oil decline after the plateau of 3% a year for five years, … Continue reading →

Posted in Exports decline to ZERO, How Much Left, Peak Oil | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Want to go off-grid? You might need hundreds of Tesla batteries

Posted on February 4, 2018 by

Preface. Although you may not be as far north as Victoria, British Columbia (48.4 latitude), you’d ideally want to be at 30 degrees or less latitude from the equator to even consider the expense of off-grid solar power.  And even … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Photovoltaic Solar | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Hurricanes will lower Gulf and East Coast carrying capacity

Posted on February 1, 2018 by

Preface. There are 2 articles here. The first is about the tremendous environmental damage that occurs after a hurricane. The second are excerpts from a National Academy of Sciences report discussing how New Orleans and much of the gulf and … Continue reading →

Posted in Extreme Weather, Hurricanes, Sea Level Rise | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Hurricanes will lower Gulf and East Coast carrying capacity

Booklist: Travel, Psychology, World history, Food, Anthropology, (Auto)biography, Cults, Religion

Posted on January 28, 2018 by

More booklists Travel & Science A Wulf.  The Invention of Nature: The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt, the lost hero of science. R Conniff. The Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth R Sapolsky. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Book List | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Booklist: Travel, Psychology, World history, Food, Anthropology, (Auto)biography, Cults, Religion

Toxic algae slime spreading quickly across the earth

Posted on January 20, 2018 by

2017-8-19. Ocean Slime Spreading Quickly Across the Earth. Craig Welch, National Geographic. Toxic algae blooms, perhaps accelerated by ocean warming and other climate shifts, are spreading, poisoning marine life and people. When sea lions suffered seizures and birds and porpoises … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, Fisheries, Oceans, Water Pollution | Comments Off on Toxic algae slime spreading quickly across the earth

Vaclav Smil on wood

Posted on January 17, 2018 by

[ I’ve extracted bits about wood from Smil’s book about materials below, read the book for the larger context.  Enormous amounts of wood were used in former civilizations with much smaller populations than today, so it’s clear we can’t go … Continue reading →

Posted in Vaclav Smil, Wood | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Threats to America’s drinking and sewage treatment infrastructure

Posted on January 14, 2018 by

[ Here are a few of the points made in this 170 page document about improving the nation’s water system security (excerpts follow): There are many potential threats to water infrastructure, including terrorism, failure of aging infrastructure, flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, … Continue reading →

Posted in CyberAttacks, Disease, Terrorism, Water Infrastructure, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Threats to America’s drinking and sewage treatment infrastructure

American Arsenal: A Century of Waging War by Patrick Coffey

Posted on January 8, 2018 by

Source: www.compoundchem.com/2014/05/17/chemical-warfare-ww1 Preface. These are my notes from “American Arsenal: A Century of Waging War” (2013) by Patrick Coffey . Absolutely horrifying, especially chemical warfare. Here’s the publishers weekly blurb of what this book is about: “Science historian Coffey surveys … Continue reading →

Posted in War Books | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Department of Homeland Security bioterrorism risk assessment

Posted on January 2, 2018 by

[So much of this was calculus calculating odds that very little of this document was extracted. 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in Terrorism | Tagged | Comments Off on Department of Homeland Security bioterrorism risk assessment

Civil war coming?

Posted on December 17, 2017 by

Preface. I read Turchin’s latest book which attempts to show why his past theories about the rise and fall of agrarian nations also applies to our modern civilization.  But there was not one mention of fossil fuels, natural resources, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Peter Turchin, Stages of, War | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Civil war coming?