Category Archives: Energy Books

Newspapers and magazines can’t being to explain the complexities of the forms of energy that keep our fossil fueled civilization going, especially since they incline towards infotainment, telling readers what they want to hear, or press releases from companies and universities hoping for more investment and grants

The pillaging of Native American coal, water, uranium and more

Preface. This is a book review of: “Unreal City: Las Vegas, Black Mesa, and the Fate of the West” by Judith Nies.  This book is about how stealing the resources of native Americans lands was made legal, despite enormous Native … Continue reading

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Biodiversity Loss, Coal, Energy Books, Energy Infrastructure, Global Warming, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Mass migrations, Peak Resources, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS), U.S. Congress Energy Policy, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The pillaging of Native American coal, water, uranium and more

Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A Nation Unprepared. Surviving the Aftermath

Preface.  This is one of three posts based on Ted Koppel’s book Lights out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath. There are three posts on Ted Koppel’s book “Lights out”: Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A … Continue reading

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Book review of “Prime Movers of Globalization: the History & Impact of Diesel Engines & Gas Turbines”

Preface. This is my book review of Vaclav Smil’s “Prime Movers of Globalization”. A topic near and dear to my heart after working for the 5th largest shipping company, American President Lines (now Neptune Orient Lines), for 22 years and … Continue reading

Posted in Energy Books, Peak Resources, Rail, Roads, Transportation, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

What is the plan for an electric grid outage that lasts for months?

Preface. There are three posts on Ted Koppel’s book “Lights out”: Book review of Lights Out. A Cyberattack. A Nation Unprepared. Surviving the Aftermath What is the plan for an electric grid outage that lasts for months? Want to survive … Continue reading

Posted in Blackouts, Blackouts Electric Grid, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Energy Books, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Nuclear waste will harm future generations for a million years without underground storage

Preface. This is a book review of “Too Hot to Touch: The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste” and the best book I’ve read on the topic, as well as additional research on the topic. Now that world wide production of … Continue reading

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Energy Books, Nuclear Books, Nuclear Power Energy, Nuclear Waste | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Book review: Atomic Days. The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America

Preface. Plutonium for nuclear weapons was produced at the Hanford Washington site for nearly four decades. Today it is the world’s most polluted site chock-a-block with radioactive waste and toxic chemicals. The department of energy estimates a clean-up could cost … Continue reading

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Want to survive Peak Everything? Become a Mormon

Source: Salt Lake Tribune. For Latter-day Saint families, preparing for emergencies is the norm Preface.  Ted Koppel’s book “Lights Out” highlights the many risks to the grid from cyber and physical attacks, electromagnetic pulses from weapons or solar flares, large … Continue reading

Posted in Blackouts, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Energy Books, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Cobalt: The Making of a Mining Superpower

Preface. This book is about the history of the town of Cobalt and would make a great horror movie — the disease, filth, poverty, poor wages, racism, and destruction of the environment — the biodiversity, fresh water and more.

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Review of Lights out: the electricity crisis, the global economy, and what it means to you

Preface. My books and energyskeptic.com explain why the electric grid can’t stay up.  This is a book review of Makansi’s “Lights out: the electricity crisis, the global economy, and what it means to you”. He explains why the grid is … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, Blackouts Electric Grid, Books, Electric Grid, Electricity Infrastructure, Energy Books | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

How the grid works, why a distributed grid won’t work

Preface. This is a book review of Angwin’s 2020 “Shorting the Grid. The Hidden Fragility of Our Electric Grid”. It is a good primer on how the grid works, especially why Volt-Ampere Reactives (VARs) are important and why renewables don’t … Continue reading

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