Category Archives: 2) Collapse

The collapse of the financial system, breakdown of supply chains, blackouts, end of being able to make computer chips, and so on are symptoms of the underlying cause: LESS OIL AVAILABLE TO DO MILLIONS OF ESSENTIAL TASKS. Whether the house of cards goes from the financial shock of a natural disaster or from debt and corruption, blockage of the Suez canal, Export Land Model, or (nuclear war) — there is certain to be a series of dislocations that ultimately bring population down to 1 billion or less, and given past collapses, take about 20-30 years. Let’s hope there are some islands of sanity and that you, dear reader, are living on one of them!

How Christians were manipulated by Pat Robertson into becoming right-wing Republicans

Posted on August 20, 2024 by

This is a book review is of “The Gospel of self: How Jesus Joined the GOP.” It was written by an evangelical Christian for evangelical Christians to show them how he, as the senior producer of Pat Robertson’s “The 700 … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Critical Thinking and Scientific Literacy, Human Nature, Pat Robertson, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why large projects fail. Especially Renewable Energy

Posted on August 9, 2024 by

Megaprojects over $1 billion in order of likelihood to go over budget and timeline Preface.  This is a book review of Flyvbjerg et al “How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Infrastructure Books, Interdependencies, Supply Chains | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Why large projects fail. Especially Renewable Energy

Menhaden: the fish at the bottom of the ocean food web

Posted on August 2, 2024 by

Preface. Oil has allowed us to extract 90% of the fish in the ocean by being able to go to the ends of the earth using sonar and spotting planes to find the last schools. Menhaden have been overfished for … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Fisheries, Jobs and Skills, Starvation | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Colonization of Mars & The Moon: a book review of “A City On Mars”

Posted on July 19, 2024 by

Preface. There are so many difficulties to overcome to colonize Mars. If the astronauts can even survive the bombardment of radiation on the way there. Where would the energy come from? There is no flowing water for hydropower. Wind and … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Hopium, Human Nature, Planetary Boundaries, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Colonization of Mars & The Moon: a book review of “A City On Mars”

European Power plants are burning American forests

Posted on July 5, 2024 by

Preface. More than half of Europe’s “green” energy comes from burning wood, a lot of it imported from America.  Now Denmark would like to import methanol made from pinyon pines and junipers from hundreds of thousands of acres in the … Continue reading →

Posted in CO2 and Methane, Deforestation, Wood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

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

World Scientists’ Warning: Ecological Overshoot & Human nature

Posted on May 31, 2024 by

Preface.  It is rare for a mainstream newspaper to bring up overshoot, so congratulations to the scientific paper of Merz et al (2023) for appearing in The Guardian.  It is so frustrating for those of us who are ecologically aware … Continue reading →

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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

Lab-grown meat is energy intensive – and up to 25 times worse for the climate than beef

Posted on May 3, 2024 by

Preface.  Meat production from animals uses a great deal of energy to produce, distribute, and refrigerate. Crops must be grown that erode soil and drain aquifers. Unfortunately, lab grown meat uses even more energy and also requires crops to extract … Continue reading →

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The Biblical Revelations, critical thinking, and how this affects us today

Posted on April 26, 2024 by

  Preface.  This is a book review of Ehrman’s 2023 Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says about the End. Ehrman is a very devout biblical scholar who  explains brilliantly what Revelations and other verses in the bible mean within their … Continue reading →

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