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Recent Posts
- The staggering cost of Net Zero in Britain
- Why the R/P Reserves to Production ratio does not show when oil will run out
- Catton on Collapse “Bottleneck: Humanity’s Impending Impasse”
- Book Review of Grain Brain: Extraordinary claim not backed up by evidence
- Why did everyone stop talking about Population & Immigration?
- What would happen if trucks stopped running?
- How to survive a nuclear winter
- The insect apocalypse will kill billions more people than climate change
- The war on drugs. A book review of “Chasing the scream”
- Peak crude oil did not happen in 2018. But we are running out of time
- Sheriffs have too much power
- Book review “They poisoned the world: Life & death in the age of Forever Chemicals”
- John Howe on one child per woman: still too high to stay under limits to growth curves
- Ted Trainer: The radical implications of a zero growth economy
- Part 5 Raven Rock. Hidey holes for government and military officials to carry on democracy after nuclear war destroys the planet
Category Archives: Books
Environmental effects of nuclear winter
Preface. This post is a summary of what I thought interesting and important from this 2025 National Academy of Sciences report “Potential environmental effects of nuclear war.” Unlike other nuclear winter papers reviewed in energyskeptic, the National Academy does not … Continue reading
Posted in Nuclear Power Energy, Nuclear Winter, War Books
Tagged existential threat, HALEU, nuclear waste, nuclear weapons, nuclear winter, polycrisis
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Book review “Women, armies, & warfare in early modern Europe”
Preface. Ever since I read that women were the pack mules in Alexander the Greats army, carrying all the food and camp gear while their men only carried a sword, I’ve wondered about the role of women in armies. Very little has … Continue reading
Posted in Jobs and Skills, Military, guns, War Books
Tagged Europe, plunder, war, warfare, women
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Taking the Red Pill: How right-wing meme wars are ending Democracy
Preface. Trump was elected not only by the Christian evangelicals, but also by a large number of Hate Groups, who briefly came together at a “Unite the Right” (UTR) rally. Many are one or more of racist, white nationalist, misogynist, … Continue reading
Posted in Political Books, Politics
Tagged January 6, meme wars, misogyny, nationalist, Republican, right wing, Trump
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Eat, Poop, Die. How animals affect the world
Preface. Here are some excerpts from “Eat, Poop, Die” about how animals affect the world. Whales, salmon, hippos, bison, wildebeest, birds and more play key roles. Whales and other sea creatures play a key role in carbon capture and sequestration. … Continue reading
Palm Oil biofuels destroy rain forests
Preface. This is a book review of “Planet Palm: How Palm Oil Ended Up in Everything-and Endangered the World.” I am mainly interested in the use of palm oil for biofuels, but it also harms health, which much of the … Continue reading
Posted in Agriculture, Biofuels, CO2 and Methane
Tagged biofuel, oil, palm, rainforests, renewable diesel
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Vaclav Smil on why there will be no energy transition
Preface. This post has excerpts from energy expert Vaclav Smil‘s 2024 free paper “Halfway between Kyoto and 2050“. Smil’s book is free, here. Below is a shortened, reworded article from Scientific American in 2014 written by Smil on this topic … Continue reading
Posted in Alternative Energy, Energy Books, Mining, Vaclav Smil
Tagged carbon capture, climate change, coal, energy transition, natural gas, oil, wind
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Republicans Brains are wired to deny science & reality
Preface. This is my book review of Chris Mooney’s 2012 “The Republican Brain. The Science of Why They Deny Science—and Reality”. This has grown from a review of this book (far below) to more recent science and writing on the … Continue reading
Posted in Evolution, Human Nature
Tagged bias, brain, conservative, curiosity, open to experience, Republican
7 Comments
Book review of 2024 Scheyder “The War Below”
Preface. This post has excerpts from Scheyder’s 2024 “The War Below” about the metals and minerals renewables will need – over 6 times more than fossil fueled internal combustion vehicles, natural gas and coal plants, and nuclear power (IEA 2021). … Continue reading
Posted in Energy Books, Limits To Growth, Mining, Peak Copper, Peak Critical Elements, Peak Rare Earth Elements
Tagged antimony, cobalt, copper, lithium, mining, rare earth, tailings dams
1 Comment
Summary of Greenpeace “Nuclear Reactor Hazards”
Source: Nuclear power is dirty, dangerous and expensive. Say no to new nukes. Preface. This is a summary of: Hirsch H (2005) Nuclear Reactor Hazards Ongoing Dangers of Operating Nuclear Technology in the 21st Century. Greenpeace International. The revival of … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Nuclear Books, Nuclear Power Energy, Nuclear spent fuel fire
Tagged accident, aging, hazard, nuclear
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Geography, Resources, & the Destiny of Nations
Preface. Jared Diamond’s famous book “Guns, Germs, and Steel” discussed why some nations were so much more successful than others. Much success came from nearby nations who bootstrapped each other up with new ideas, crops, and ideas. Especially Eurasia due … Continue reading
Posted in Peak Resources
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