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

Book Cobalt: The Making of a Mining Superpower

Posted on August 23, 2023 by

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

Posted on April 3, 2023 by

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

Posted on September 23, 2022 by

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 →

Posted in Blackouts, Blackouts Electric Grid, Distributed Generation, Electric Grid & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Electricity Infrastructure, Energy Books, Grid instability | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on How the grid works, why a distributed grid won’t work

Why mining to make renewables will destroy the planet

Posted on August 26, 2022 by

Figure 1 Landscape of earth after 37% is mined to build renewables Preface. As I wrote in Life After fossil fuels: “Mining spews out acid rain, wastewater, and heavy metals onto land, water, and air (PEBI 2016). One-fifth of China’s arable … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Batteries, Climate Change, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Electric Grid, Energy Books, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Platinum Group Elements, Peak Precious Elements, Peak Rare Earth Elements, Recycle, Recycling | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Can democracy survive peak oil?

Posted on August 27, 2021 by

Preface.  This is a book review of Howard Bucknell’s Energy and the National Defense.  University of Kentucky Press. Bucknell was amazingly prescient as you’ll see in this review, especially about why democracy might not survive the energy crisis. Heck, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, Energy Books, Military, Politics, Rationing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book review: The Bottlenecks of the 21st Century

Posted on August 15, 2021 by

Preface. Nate Hagens and DJ White’s book is the kind of book I’d like to write someday. Like them, I’d publish only in paper to preserve knowledge because the electric grid will come down some day since it can’t outlast … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Books, Expert Advice, Nate Hagens | Tagged | 2 Comments

Book Review: The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material & the Construction of Civilization

Posted on April 23, 2021 by

Preface. This is a book review, mainly with excerpts, of Ennos’s book “The Age of Wood. Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization”. If you know anything about woodworking, you will enjoy the detailed descriptions of how and … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Books, Jobs and Skills, Life After Fossil Fuels, Wood | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book review of “Bright Green Lies”

Posted on April 4, 2021 by

This is a book review of “Bright Green Lies. How the Environmental Movement Lost its Way and What We can Do About It” by Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith, and Max Wilbert. This is a timely book.  The Biden administration is … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Books, Mining | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Walter Youngquist: Geodestinies

Posted on March 14, 2021 by

Preface. I was fortunate enough to know Walter for 15 years. He became a friend and mentor, helping me learn to become a better science writer, and sending me material I might be interested in, and delightful pictures of him … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Books, Walter Youngquist | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Book review of Wrigley’s “Energy and the English Industrial revolution”

Posted on April 12, 2019 by

Preface. I’ve made a strong case in my book “When trucks stop running” and this energyskeptic website that we will eventually return to wood and a 14th century lifestyle after fossil fuels are depleted. So if you’re curious about what … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Energy Books, Farming & Ranching, Life Before Oil, Limits To Growth | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments