Category Archives: Books

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren (excerpts)

Preface. Here are some excerpts to give you a taste of how delightful and well written this book is, hope it inspires young women to go into science.  And something good to read when the grid goes down… Warning: these … Continue reading

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Booklist: Agriculture

Preface. Industrial agriculture is destroying topsoil, aquifers, and biodiversity with land use changes, heavy equipment, and pesticides — which only work for 5 years on average (see Dyer’s “Chasing the Red Queen” below), and scientists are running out of new … Continue reading

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Booklist: Trump, Russia, Drugs U.S. History, Politics, Corruption, Feminism

 More booklists Drugs J Hari. Chasing the scream. The first and last days of the war on drugs N Reding. Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town JH Halpern. Opium: How an Ancient Flower Shaped and Poisoned … Continue reading

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

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

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American Arsenal: A Century of Waging War by Patrick Coffey

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

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Mining: Waste, Pollution, Destruction from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Preface. I’ve reworded/shortened some of the wording at times from this excellent book. Here are 7 other posts from this great book: Mining: Waste, Pollution, Destruction Ugo Bardi predictions of the future Minerals and War Minerals: Natural gas Minerals: Coal … Continue reading

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Energy Crisis Booklist: EROEI, Peak oil, Peak coal, Peak natural gas, Nuclear, Kerogen, Methane hydrates

More booklists Laws of physics Professor Tom Murphy, at the University of California, San Diego has a free textbook showing the math and physics of why renewables can’t replace fossil fuels: “Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet. Assessing … Continue reading

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Why didn’t any white collar corporate criminals go to jail after the crash?

[ This is a book review with excerpts of “The Chickenshit club: Why the justice department fails to prosecute executives”.  Here is how the author Eisinger summarizes the problem and consequences: “Businesses now have privileges not seen since the Gilded … Continue reading

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Book review of “1493 Uncovering the new world Columbus Created”

[ This book will be included in the “must read” category of my giant booklist when I get around to updating it. This book isn’t just about the past, the implications reverberate into the postcarbon future.  Will slavery return without … Continue reading

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Book review of “In order to live: A North Korean girl’s journey to freedom” by Yeonmi Park

Related Posts North Korea collapse posts How different nations have coped with oil shortages Dmitry Orlov: How Russians survived the collapse of the Soviet Union A book review of “Russia’s Food Policies and Globalization” Lessons Learned from How Cuba Survived … Continue reading

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