Author Archives: energyskeptic

House of Representatives Roscoe Bartlett 2005

[ Former Congressman Roscoe Bartlett has discussed peak oil many times in the congressional record. Here are some of his earliest remarks for those of you interested in peak oil history.  He educated the other house members and formed a … Continue reading

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Michael Klare: The Bush/Cheney energy strategy

[I am going through the material I’ve accumulated since 2000 about energy, this one is of interest to those following the history of U.S. energy policy.  Alice Friedemann, www.energyskeptic.com ] THE BUSH/CHENEY ENERGY STRATEGY: IMPLICATIONS FOR U.S. FOREIGN AND MILITARY … Continue reading

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Kurt Cobb: Can Democracy survive without Fossil Fuels?

June 29, 2005  Can Democracy Survive Without Fossil Fuels?  By Kurt Cobb http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com/2005/06/can-democracy-survive-without-fossil.html Is it an accident that the great modern revolutions, both American and French, occurred shortly after James Watt vastly increased the efficiency of the steam engine? Recall … Continue reading

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Review of Schneider-Mayerson “Peak Oil Apocalyptic Environmentalism and Libertarian Political Culture”

I just finished a great book about life in Russia called “Nothing is true and everything is possible, the surreal heart of the new Russia” by Peter Pomerantsev. He reveals how Soviet propaganda is propagated through TV shows whose goal … Continue reading

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Reduce vehicle fuel consumption to increase energy security

[This is a really interesting House session that discusses U.S. energy policy, the need for consumers to be educated about why they should buy more fuel efficient cars, and push-back from the auto industry (see the full 140 pages for … Continue reading

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David L. Greene, ORNL: Raise cafe standards and gas tax

Excerpt from: U.S. House. February 9, 2005. Improving the nation’s energy security: can cars and trucks be made more fuel efficient? Committee on science, House of Representatives, Serial No. 109-3. 140 pages. DAVID L. GREENE, OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY, CENTER … Continue reading

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CAFE standards: 54.5 mpg cars exist, but public prefers gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks

[Passenger vehicles sold in 2025 in the United States are supposed to get 54.5 miles per gallon on average.  But they won’t.  It will be closer to 35.4 miles per gallon, as the Union of Concerned Scientists explains in Translating … Continue reading

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Tilting at Windmills, Spain’s disastrous attempt to replace fossil fuels with Solar PV, Part 1

Book review by Alice Friedemann at energyskeptic of “Spain’s Photovoltaic Revolution. The Energy Return on Investment”, by Pedro Prieto and Charles A.S. Hall. 2013. Springer. Conclusion: the EROI of solar photovoltaic is only 2.45, very low despite Spain’s ideal sunny … Continue reading

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The Great Game and future wars over oil: Will China and the U.S. collide?

[ I don’t think we will go to war with China because it would be over before we started it — they’d start a cyberwar and take down our electric grid, and we can’t retaliate because their grid is run … Continue reading

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Some of my favorite passages from H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

When walking the forest you come across all sorts of things you don’t expect. Great tracts of reindeer moss, for example: tiny stars and florets and inklings of an ancient flora growing on exhausted land. Crisp underfoot in summer, the … Continue reading

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