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!

North Korea: what happened when the oil was cut off?

Posted on May 30, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. All nations will eventually run low and then out of petroleum, so it is worthwhile to see what happened to those countries where oil was scarce first to get glimpses of our own fate and perhaps try to mitigate … Continue reading →

Posted in North Korea, Oil shock collapse | Tagged collapse, cuba, japan, North Korea, peak oil, Venezuela | 1 Comment

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

Implications of Refinery closures for Homeland Security & critical infrastructure safety

Posted on March 24, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. The talk of electric vehicles saving the world from greenhouse gases is nonsense, a red herring to distract everyone from what’s really at stake, and from the material requirements to build EV with rare earth and other scarce minerals … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Oil & Gas, Peak Oil, U.S. Congress Infrastructure | Tagged diesel, electric vehicle, EV, gasoline, infrastructure, lubricants, peak oil, pipeline, refinery | 1 Comment

Review of Wrangham’s The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue & Violence in Human Evolution

Posted on March 18, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. This is a fantastic, must read book if you’re at all interested in how we evolved to be who we are today, how we domesticated ourselves, gossip, conformity, violence and more. It reminds me of why I don’t read … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Human Nature, War Books | Tagged conformity, domestication, gossip, hunter-gatherer, morality, violence | 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

Jellyfish in the news

Posted on February 16, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. As we overfish, eutrophy and acidify the ocean with fertilizer and pesticides we risk a tipping point where jellyfish dominate the oceans and fish are scarce. Related: Why and how Jellyfish are taking over the world Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com … Continue reading →

Posted in BioInvasion, Extinction, Jellyfish | Tagged Bioinvasion, jellyfish, slime | Comments Off

QAnon and Witchcraft. Hard to tell them apart

Posted on February 10, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. I just read Schiff’s book “The Witches: Salem, 1692”. As I read it, I kept thinking that these Christian witch killers weren’t much different from QAnon believers, who are also mostly Christians (evangelists). I’m not the first to think … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking | Tagged critical thinking, QAnon, superstition, witchcraft | 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 & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Energy Production, Hydropower, Peak Water, Ships and Barges | Tagged barge, drought, extreme storms, flood, heat, peak water, sea level rise, wildfire | Comments Off

Book review of “Halfway Home”. What happens after jail

Posted on January 22, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. This book is about what happens to released prisoners. Many of the homeless you see on the street were prisoners who are on the street because landlords won’t rent to them, and their family won’t let them move in … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Gangs, Corrupt police, Private security, Drug wars and the prison system | Tagged corruption, drugs, jail, prison system | Comments Off

Insect & other BioInvasions

Posted on January 19, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. Invasive insects that have no predators in the U.S. can only be somewhat reduced with oil-based products that will grow scarcer as petroleum declines. Pesticides are made out of oil and damage the environment for many generations to come. … Continue reading →

Posted in 2) Collapse, BioInvasion | Tagged ant, ash borer, beetle, Bioinvasion, deforestation, fire ant, mosquitoes, mountain pine beetle, rats, small hive beetle | Comments Off