Category Archives: Infrastructure & Collapse

90% of why we live past 50 due is clean water (and food) from water treatment facilities and sewage treatment plants that are all falling apart. Oil & gas pipes essential to heating and cooking are rusting apart. Dams, bridges, roads — all built when the EROEI of oil was 100:1 need replacing at a time when the EROEI has fallen below 15:1

Permafrost & lack of gravel will limit arctic natural gas, oil, and coal extraction

Posted on June 21, 2024 by

Preface. For many people, it’s comforting to know that about 25% of remaining oil and gas reserves (we have the know-how and economics to get it) and resources (beyond our technical and/or monetary capability) are in the arctic. They assume … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, EROEI remaining oil too low, How Much Left, Peak Natural Gas, Peak Oil, Reserves Lower than stated, Roads, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Permafrost & lack of gravel will limit arctic natural gas, oil, and coal extraction

The pillaging of Native American coal, water, uranium and more

Posted on May 24, 2024 by

Preface. This is a book review of: “Unreal City: Las Vegas, Black Mesa, and the Fate of the West” by Judith Nies.  This book is about how stealing the resources of native Americans lands was made legal, despite enormous Native … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Biodiversity Loss, Coal, Energy Books, Energy Infrastructure, Global Warming, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Mass migrations, Peak Resources, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS), U.S. Congress Energy Policy, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The pillaging of Native American coal, water, uranium and more

Oil choke points vulnerable to war, chaos, terrorism, accidents, & piracy

Posted on April 12, 2024 by

Source: Ballout, D. 2013. Choke Points: Our energy access points. Oil Change. Preface. Below are several articles I’ve collected since 2005 on oil chokepoints. If oil tanker traffic were stopped on one or more, much of the world would plunge … Continue reading →

Posted in Chokepoints, Oil & Gas, Oil Shocks, Threats to oil supply | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Book review of “Chip War” and the Fragility of microchips

Posted on March 8, 2024 by

Major semiconductor producing countries rely on each other for different types of chips. Top semiconductor producers’ 2021 export values by source and destination, billions USD.  Source: PIIE 2022 https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/major-semiconductor-producing-countries-rely-each-other-different-types-chips Preface.  We have become insanely dependent on technology that can’t possibly … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts Electric Grid, Electricity Infrastructure, Microchips and computers | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Book review of “Chip War” and the Fragility of microchips

Off-Road vehicles & equipment need diesel fuel

Posted on February 1, 2024 by

Preface. Move over semi-trucks. You are not the most important truck in the world, even though I gave you the starring role in “When Trucks Stop Running”.  What really matters are the trucks that grow our fuel: Food. And mining … Continue reading →

Posted in Efficiency, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Transportation Infrastructure, Trucks | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Book review of “Prime Movers of Globalization: the History & Impact of Diesel Engines & Gas Turbines”

Posted on January 25, 2024 by

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 , , , | 1 Comment

Unpave concrete & asphalt to save energy and money

Posted on November 22, 2023 by

Preface. The U.S. has 4.1 million miles of roads (1.9 million paved, 2.2 million gravel). About 3 million miles of roads have less than 2,000 vehicles a day, less than 15% of all traffic. The paved portion of these low-volume … Continue reading →

Posted in Concrete, Roads, Transportation, Transportation What To Do | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Impact of Climate Change on California: 8th Largest Economy, 40% of U.S. Shipping

Posted on August 6, 2023 by

Preface. California’s economy and population relies on one of the most extensive and costly infrastructure systems in the world. This includes thousands of miles of roads, highways and railroads, nearly 200 large water reservoirs of varying capacity, miles of canals, … Continue reading →

Posted in Electricity Infrastructure, Energy Infrastructure, Extreme Weather, Heat, Oil & Gas, Rail, Sea Level Rise, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Impact of Climate Change on California: 8th Largest Economy, 40% of U.S. Shipping

The electric grid could be down for years if LPTs destroyed

Posted on July 3, 2023 by

Large Power Transformer Source: ABB Conversations (2013) Preface. This post contains excerpts from two Department of Energy documents and one about large geomagnetic storms and how they would affect Large power transformers (LPT) and the U.S. electric grid. They are … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Electric Grid, Electricity Infrastructure, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Interdependencies | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Infrastructure interdependencies: an attack on one is an attack on all

Posted on May 29, 2023 by

An Attack on Energy Infrastructure would affect all other Infrastructure I should consolidate my many posts on cyber attacks, EMPs, and other ways the electric grid could come down, but our dependencies are just so widespread that I don’t want … Continue reading →

Posted in CyberAttacks, Infrastructure & Collapse, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Interdependencies, Natural Gas, Oil | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Infrastructure interdependencies: an attack on one is an attack on all