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Recent Posts
- Peak Menhaden
- Hemp for paper, textiles, the war on drugs, and more
- Why towns have a hard time adding EV, solar, heat pumps
- Building a national super grid in America
- The Mayflower from the book The Barbarous Years
- Deep Sea Oil
- Book review of “Livewired. The inside story of the ever-changing brain”
- The conveyor belt may be slowing down — Yikes!
- Battery Energy storage batteries (BESS) too complex to ever be commercial
- New war and energy alliances over next resource wars
- Book review of “Siege: Trump Under fire”
- Why do people vote for Trump?
- Book review of “Pandemic Politics: The Deadly Toll of Partisanship in the Age of COVID”
- The evolution of the Republican party from 1960 to 2024: from moderate democracy to extreme authoritarianism
- Why some people are conservative and others liberal
Category Archives: Books
Rare Earth updates: recent research on why complex & intelligent life are rare in the Universe
Preface. These are updates to Ward & Brownlee’s book “Rare Earth: Why Complex life is Uncommon in the Universe”. If we are one of the few planets with intelligent life, what a shame it would be if we destroyed ourselves … Continue reading
Posted in Evolution, Human Nature, Planetary Boundaries, Wood
Tagged combustion, complex life, evolution, intelligent life, photosynthesis, rare earth, Theia, venus, water
1 Comment
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
Posted in Cyber, EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Energy Books
Tagged cyberattack, electric grid, EMP, Koppel, lights out, preparation
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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 diesel engines, microprocessor, ships, trucks
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
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
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
Posted in Disasters, Energy Books, Nuclear Waste, Pollution
Tagged accident, Bechtel, DOE, Hanford, nuclear waste, plutonium
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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
Book review of No friends but the Mountains. Dispatches from the worlds violent highlands
Preface. I am fascinated by war and conflict, and especially in this book which shows how societies and conflicts are similar across time and mountain ranges all over the world. These cultures may be inevitable due to the harsh environments. … Continue reading
Fusion: Book review of “Sun in a Bottle”
Preface. I don’t know of a book or article that better explains fusion and why fusion is so difficult and far from being commercial. Or ever commercial for that matter. Except for hydrogen bombs.
Posted in Fusion, Nuclear Books, Nuclear Waste
Tagged bomb, fission, fusion, H Bomb, hydrogen, nuclear power, radiation, Teller, tritium
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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.
Posted in Energy Books, Hazardous Waste, Mining
Tagged cobalt, mining, pollution
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