Category Archives: 1) Decline

Decline will be death by a thousand cuts as too many problems occur and overwhelm societies ability to fix them (i.e. Tainter’s “complexity”). Already our infrastructure (oil and gas pipelines, electric grid, roads, bridges, etc) has a Report Card of D from the American Society of Civil Engineers. All 18 components of essential infrastructure, from the electric grid to the financial system are vulnerable to cyber-attack, The end of growth means bankruptcy for cities, pensions, families, and businesses, and no credit for energy companies to borrow for new projects to obtain oil, coal, and natural gas, the real drivers of the economy (just try putting dollar bills in your gas tank)

Climate-water impacts on electricity sector capacity expansion NREL 2014

Posted on June 5, 2015 by

NREL. 2014. Modeling climate-water impacts on electricity sector capacity expansion. To be presented at the ASME 2014 Power Conference Baltimore, Maryland July 28–31, 2014. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 12 pages. Excerpts follow: ABSTRACT Climate change has the potential to exacerbate … Continue reading →

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Expanding rail infrastructure to accommodate growth in agriculture and other sectors

Posted on June 5, 2015 by

Excerpts from 103 page: Keith, K. Jan 2013. Maintaining a track record of success. Expanding rail infrastructure to accommodate growth in agriculture and other sectors. TRC Consulting. [I’m working on a book about the distribution of food when declining oil … Continue reading →

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Reducing fuel consumption of medium & heavy-duty vehicles 2014 National Research Council

Posted on June 4, 2015 by

Look at the enormous waste of fuel when JIT supply chain trucks ramped up in the late 70s  (page 63). Excerpts from the 117 page: NRC. 2014. Reducing the Fuel Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles, … Continue reading →

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Peak fossil fuels limits climate change to low-to-medium outcomes in IPCC report

Posted on June 4, 2015 by

Excerpts from 24 page:  Höök, M., Tang, X. 2013. Depletion of fossil fuels and anthropogenic climate change: a review. Energy Policy, 52: 797-809 Conclusion of paper: Fossil fuel constraints will limit anthropogenic climate impact towards the low-medium outcomes presented by … Continue reading →

Posted in ! PEAK EVERYTHING, But not from climate change: Peak Fossil Fuels, Climate Change, Supply Chains, Transportation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Peak fossil fuels limits climate change to low-to-medium outcomes in IPCC report

Peak soil, peak phosphate, peak fertilizer means Peak Food

Posted on May 9, 2015 by

Amundson, R., et al. May 7, 2015. Soil and human security in the 21st century. Science 348. A group of leading soil scientists has summarized the precarious state of the world’s soil resources and the possible ramifications for human security … Continue reading →

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Livestock diseases, Science Mag Review of “Arresting Contagion”

Posted on May 7, 2015 by

Science 17 April 2015: Vol. 348 no. 6232 p. 294 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaa7672 The fever on the farm Arresting Contagion Science, Policy, and Conflicts over Animal Disease Control Alan L. Olmstead and Paul W. Rhode Harvard University Press, 2015. 477 pp. … Continue reading →

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Better truck fuel efficiency to delay the end of the oil age

Posted on April 26, 2015 by

NAS. 2010. Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles (National Academy of Sciences Study) This free, 251 page document is one of the best I’ve seen on the myriad ways trucks could double their … Continue reading →

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All Electric Trucks. Probably not going to happen. Ever. Why not?

Posted on April 14, 2015 by

There are “forms of transport that cannot be electrified — heavy-duty trucks and planes… Even if the electricity problem can be solved, it won’t address the needs of planes, trucks, ships and some industrial heating that cannot be electrified” (Long). … Continue reading →

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GAO on why ethanol, and other non-drop in fuels, face pipeline & installation at service station challenges

Posted on April 9, 2015 by

[The challenges that ethanol faces in being put into new or modified pipelines and added to gas stations are issues faced by all alternative fuels (methanol, CNG, LNG, DME, diesohol, CTL, hydrogen, and so on) in a transition from gasoline … Continue reading →

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Oil shortages: Transportation needs to go back to high inventories, not just-in-time delivery

Posted on April 8, 2015 by

Huge amounts of fuel are wasted as trucks arrive half full with just the needed parts at factories and warehouses and return empty. As oil shocks strike, fuel will be less available.  Large inventories will help by cushioning businesses from … Continue reading →

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