Category Archives: Books

This websites spends a lot of time explaining why we cannot electrify the world with wind, solar and so on. That means going back to books, kicking and screaming, but ultimately the knowledge stored on the internet is going away. So start buying paperback books for your grandchildren to read, for fun, to preserve knowledge, put on theatrical plays and enrich their lives

Book review of “The Soul of an Octopus”

Posted on April 3, 2019 by

Preface.  The octopus is an amazing creature, more than can be conveyed in the bits and pieces I’ve selected below.  The only downside to reading it is that you may not want to eat octopus anymore! 2018: A team of … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural History | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Book review of Bryce’s “Power hungry: the myths of green energy and the real fuels of the future”

Posted on March 28, 2019 by

Preface.  This is a book review of: Robert Bryce. 2009. Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future. This is a brilliant book, very funny at times, a great way to sharpen your critical … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Books, Other Experts | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Book review of Heinberg’s “Afterburn: society beyond fossil fuels”

Posted on March 25, 2019 by

Preface. This book has 15 essays Heinberg wrote from 2011 to 2014, many of them available for free online.  These are some of my Kindle notes of parts that interested me, so to you it will be disjointed and perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Books, Peak Oil, Richard Heinberg | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Why and how Jellyfish are taking over the world

Posted on March 19, 2019 by

Preface.  The more climate change kicks in, the more we over-fish, pollute, acidify and warm the ocean, create vast dead zones, and trawl ocean bottoms, the better the jellyfish do. It is quite possible that the ocean ecosystem will shift … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Extinction Books, Fisheries, Jellyfish, Peak Food | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Book review of Dirt: the erosion of civilization

Posted on March 16, 2019 by

Preface. On average civilizations collapsed after 800 to 2,000 years because they’d destroyed their topsoil, some of it caused by deforestation to grow more food, make metals, ceramics, glass and other objects requiring high heat, which fossils provide today. Today, … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Peak Food, Soil | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Book review of Underbug: an obsessive tale of termites and technology

Posted on February 23, 2019 by

Preface.  I read this book mainly to find out where “grassoline” stood. Scientists thought 10 years ago that we could recreate the termite biota system of digesting biomass to create biofuels.  But this appears to be far in the future … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Wood | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Book review of Underbug: an obsessive tale of termites and technology

Booklist: Natural history & Science, Evolution, Critical thinking, Health, Resource allocation, Climate change, Fire

Posted on February 20, 2019 by

Preface. My goal since college has been to read as much as I could across as many fields as possible for a Big Picture View and understand the world as it really is rather than how I’d like it to … Continue reading →

Posted in Book List | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Muscle Power

Posted on February 5, 2019 by

Preface. Below is a review of “Prime Mover: A Natural History of Muscle: from Natural History Magazine. Since both my books explain why we will be returning to biomass and muscle power, here’s yet another preparation opportunity: breed horses and … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Energy Books, Life Before Oil, Muscle Power, What to do | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Vaclav Smil. Making the modern world: materials and dematerialization

Posted on January 30, 2019 by

Preface.  I can’t believe I read this book, it is just a long litany of the  gigantic amounts of materials we exploit, with no analysis, implications, or the meaning of what impact this will have on the planet. I certainly … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure Books, Life Before Oil, Limits To Growth, Peak Resources, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

The Butterfly Defect: How Globalization Creates Systemic Risks

Posted on January 21, 2019 by

Preface. I’m fascinated by system risks, so I’ve included this, though there’s no awareness at all of peak oil or limits to growth or that energy, not money, is the basis of civilization and foundation of every single widget made … Continue reading →

Posted in Crash Coming Soon, Financial | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment