Category Archives: 2) Overshoot

The polycrisis/overshoot, 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: peak energy and peak everything, especially peak diesel since trucks, rail, and ships make this one-time only fossil fueled civilization possible. Wind, solar, nuclear, and so on also need fossil fuels for every single step of their life cycle, so that is a dead end. It is back to before the 15th century — wood world. Whether the house of cards collapses from chokepoints in the middle east such as the Suez canal, the financial shock of a natural disaster or from debt and corruption, Export Land Model, or nuclear war — there is certain to be a series of dislocations that ultimately bring population down to 400 million (population before fossil fuels) or less (due to overshoot factors such as top soil erosion, pollution, etc) Let’s hope there are some islands of sanity and that you are living on one of them!

21 scientists explain why Jacobson’s renewable schemes are a delusional fantasy

Preface. Seldom have I seen such a vitriolic fight among scientists.  Though I think Clack and the other 20 scientists (2017) miss the main problems with trying to create a 100% renewable energy system(Friedemann 2015c). Many authors have been writing … Continue reading

Posted in ! PEAK EVERYTHING, Alternative Energy, Electric Grid & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Electricity Infrastructure, Infrastructure & Fast Crash | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

An invasive green monster that can double in 2 days and impossible to control threatens 20 states

    [ The 2011 House of Representatives hearing below is a discussion of how to control salvinia. We spend about $135 billion on invasive species a year – what will happen when the fossil energy to remove them is … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, BioInvasion, Peak Food | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Climate change effects on conflict, social unrest, health, mass migration, food, and national security

[ Since oil shortages from exponential decline rates of conventional oil will affect every aspect of civilization from farming to electricity to supply chains far harder and sooner than sea-level rise and other climate change problems, think “energy shortage” whenever … Continue reading

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Climate change is already collapsing nations

  Ahmed, Nafeez. 2017. Failing States, Collapsing Systems BioPhysical Triggers of Political Violence. Springer. “The last half century has seen a dramatic increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events in the form of droughts, wildfires, extreme rainfall, … Continue reading

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Climate change may corrode concrete even faster

[ I’ve paraphrased and shortened this article about how climate change will corrode concrete faster in the future from increasing carbon dioxide levels, and in coastal cities, from the chloride ions in sea spray. After that is the introduction section … Continue reading

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Biggest threat to biodiversity is not climate change: it’s agriculture, fishing, and hunting

[ This article makes the point that other factors are far more to blame for biodiversity loss than climage change. And with “peak everything“, especially peak oil, but also peak coal, and peak natural gas — greenhouse gas emissions will … Continue reading

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Limits to Growth? 2016 United Nations report provides best evidence yet

Preface. This is a summary of a United Nations report that ought to scare the pants off of anyone who understands exponential growth. Here are a few examples what that means: If 2 grams of gold grew at a 5% … Continue reading

Posted in ! PEAK EVERYTHING, Distribution of Wealth, Exponential Growth, Limits To Growth, Organizations, Other Experts | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Because we’ve stuffed staggering numbers of cows on factory farms we live in a cow toilet

[ Book review of “Cowed: The hidden impactof 93 million cows” by Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer] Hayes, Denis and Gail. 2015. Cowed: The Hidden Impact of 93 … Continue reading

Posted in Antibiotics, Biodiversity Loss, CO2 and Methane, Pollution, Soil | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Devil’s Scenario – near miss at Fukushima is a warning for U.S.

[ The most likely event to trigger a loss of power long enough to cause a spent fuel pool zirconium fire meltdown and release of radioactive particles into the atmosphere is a nuclear or natural geomagnetic storm electromagnetic pulse (see … Continue reading

Posted in Nuclear Power Collapse, Nuclear spent fuel fire, Nuclear Waste, Scientists Warnings to Humanity | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Coal power plants depend on railroads to deliver coal

[ The extract of a Senate hearing below is mostly spent on testimony by utilities bashing the railroads for not delivering enough coal due to a disaster in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming area, where coal dust infiltrated the stone … Continue reading

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