Category Archives: Climate Change

The nine boundaries we must not cross or we may go extinct

Posted on November 4, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. This post has excerpts from the famous paper by Rockström et al (2009) as well as a more recent proposal by Running (2012) on an easier measure of how close we’re coming to rendering the planet uninhabitable. The media … Continue reading →

Posted in Acidification, Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, Extinction, Planetary Boundaries, Pollution, Sea Level Rise, Water, World's Best Scientists | Tagged atmospheric aerosol loading, biogeochemical nitrogen cycle, biological diversity, boundaries, chemical pollution, climate change, Earth, extinction, global freshwater use, global warming, IPCC, land system change, ocean acidification, ozone hole, peak oil, phosphorus cycle, stratospheric ozone, sustainability | Comments Off

Hydrogen hopium: Storage

Posted on October 21, 2022 by energyskeptic

Source: Russel Rhodes (2011) Explosive Lessons in Hydrogen Safety. https://appel.nasa.gov/2011/02/02/explosive-lessons-in-hydrogen-safety/ Preface. What is hopium? Irrational or unwarranted optimism. An addiction to false hopes. A metaphorical substance that causes people to believe in a false hope (H + opium). And Hopium … Continue reading →

Posted in CAES Compressed Air, Drought & Collapse, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Hopium, Hydrogen, Trucks | Tagged CAES, drought, embrittlement, explosive, hopium, hydrogen, salt dome, storage | Comments Off

Will global warming drive us extinct? A review of Peter Ward’s “Under a Green Sky”

Posted on October 7, 2022 by energyskeptic

Canfield purple ocean, Green Sky Preface. Thank goodness for world peak oil production in 2018. We’re out of time to destroy the planet! We’re about to dramatically reduce fossil fuel consumption, unwillingly, as it declines at 8% or more and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Climate Change, Extinction Books, Runaway Greenhouse | Tagged anoxic ocean, book review, canfield ocean, climate change, global warming, mass extinction, peak oil, under a green sky | Comments Off

Why mining to make renewables will destroy the planet

Posted on August 26, 2022 by energyskeptic

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 clean energy, mining, Pitron, Rare metals, renewables, war | 1 Comment

Why did everyone stop talking about Population & Immigration?

Posted on June 25, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. This post summarizes the 20 top reasons why population growth was abandoned the past 40 years. A deeper understanding can be found in the excellent Beck & Kolankiewicz (2000) “The Environmental Movement’s Retreat from Advocating U.S. Population Stabilization” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, Deforestation, Disease, Overpopulation, Pesticides, Pollution, Population, Transportation, Water Pollution, Wildfire | Tagged Borlaug, carrying capacity, green revolution, immigration, overpopulation, population, sierra club, tragedy of the commons | 14 Comments

Why it is hard to replace diesel with biodiesel

Posted on April 12, 2022 by energyskeptic

Biodiesel is the great hope, our main hope, the only renewable fuel of all the many options, and the closest to the diesel essential for rail, trucks, and ships to do the actual work of civilization. The U.S. produces over … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiesel, Food production, Oil, Peak Biofuels, Peak Food, Transportation, Water | Tagged biodiesel, diesel, EROI | 1 Comment

Heat effects on habitability, biodiversity, and invasive species

Posted on February 22, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. Due to limits of human heat tolerance, much of Earth’s surface may not be habitable by 2300 if we continue to emit greenhouse gases at the current rate. But we can’t continue at the current rate. Peak oil production … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, BioInvasion, Deforestation, Fisheries, Heat, Wildfire | Tagged bark beetle, climate change, deforestation, fisheries, global warming, heat, uninhabitable | Comments Off

Climate change will damage energy infrastructure, costing trillions

Posted on January 28, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. Climate change and extreme weather will harm oil and gas exploration and production, electric power generation and increase energy demand due to sea level rise, heat, drought, floods, more storms, and blackouts. Extreme heat and drought will force electric … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts Electric Grid, Cascading Failure, Climate Change, Electric Grid, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Energy Production, Hydropower, Peak Water, Ships and Barges | Tagged barge, drought, extreme storms, flood, heat, peak water, sea level rise, wildfire | Comments Off

Solar panels in the Sahara could cause global warming

Posted on December 23, 2021 by energyskeptic

Preface. Adding tens of thousands of square miles of solar panels to replace fossil fuels could cause climate change and heat up the planet. Of course this is a fantasy, dust storms would scour the panels rendering them useless, with … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Heat, Photovoltaic Solar | Tagged climate change, energy, global warming, solar PV | Comments Off

Dust Bowls

Posted on November 16, 2021 by energyskeptic

Preface. As if there weren’t enough to worry about, more Great Dust Bowls may be on the way. The irony is that some of it will likely be due to planting corn and soybeans to produce biofuels, yet another reason … Continue reading →

Posted in Biofuels, Drought & Collapse | Tagged agriculture, drought, dust bowl, food shortage | Comments Off