Category Archives: Infrastructure

This site makes the case that collapse will take decades, not centuries. And the worst that ever has been or will be, it is fossil fuels that enabled 8.2 people to exist on the planet

Electric Grid Overview

[ Our energy, transportation, electric, water and other infrastructures are all heavily dependent on each other, making the U.S. one of the most vulnerable nations on earth.  Although transportation is the most essential of all, especially trucks, which make the … Continue reading

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Energy in the Food System uses 19% of all energy consumed in the USA. Pimentel 2008

Preface.  There are many ways to calculate how much energy is used in the food system  This first paper estimates 19%, the paper below 14%. It all depends on how much you include, and whether it is just the farm … Continue reading

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How the sun could end Nuclear Power

Flare-up: How the Sun Could Put an End to Nuclear Power Gar Smith. Spring 2012. Earth Island Journal. According to NASA, the planet will soon face an outbreak of powerful solar flares capable of collapsing global power grids. Were this … Continue reading

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Writing on the wall for prime farmland. Years of irrigation have taken toll on San Joaquin Valley.

Carolyn Lochhead. March 24, 2014. Writing on the wall for prime farmland. Years of irrigation have taken toll on San Joaquin Valley. San Francisco Chronicle. Decades of irrigation have leached salts and toxic minerals from the soil [in the San … Continue reading

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On the cusp of collapse: complexity, energy, and the globalised economy

On the cusp of collapse: complexity, energy, and the globalised economy by David Koriwicz, 2011. Fleeing Vesuvius The systems on which we rely for our financial transactions, food, fuel and livelihoods are so inter-dependent that they are better regarded as … Continue reading

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Inside North Korea’s environmental collapse

The reddish hue of this soil in North Korea comes from lack of organic matter, vital for farming. Related Posts: North Korea collapse posts How different nations have coped with oil shortages Dmitry Orlov: How Russians survived the collapse of … Continue reading

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Groundwater depletion consequences

Robert. Glennon. 9 Oct 2002. The Perils of Groundwater Pumping. The excessive “mining” of our aquifers is causing environmental degradation on a potentially enormous scale. Issues in Science and Technology. National Academy of Sciences. Groundwater is more than 25 percent … Continue reading

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The Race to Adapt, a book review of Klare’s “The Race for What’s Left”

Coltan mining Preface. This is a book review of Michael Klare’s “The Race For What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources”   Klare MT. 2012. The Race for What’s Left: The Global Scramble for the World’s Last Resources. … Continue reading

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Jeremy Faludi: Your Stuff: If It Isn’t Grown, It Must Be Mined

Below is an excerpt from Jeremy Faludi’s “Your Stuff: If It Isn’t Grown, It Must Be Mined” (25 Dec 2007). Where does your stuff come from? Before the store, before the factory, where did it really begin? If it isn’t … Continue reading

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Alfred McCoy in Salon Magazine on How America will collapse (by 2025)

How America will collapse by 2025. Four scenarios that could spell the end of the United States as we know it — in the very near future. Alfred McCoy. December 6, 2010. Salon.com Here are a few extracts from this … Continue reading

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