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)

Why is modern concrete falling apart?

Here’s more information from Courland’s book “Concrete Planet” and other information I found on the web since I wrote Enough energy after Peak Oil to rebuild and repair concrete infrastructure? Lawrence Berkeley National laboratory has been trying to figure out … Continue reading

Posted in Concrete, Infrastructure & Collapse | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

How long will concrete last if it isn’t maintained?

As energy grows scarcer and is devoted to growing food and other life-support services, our infrastructure will crumble. Bob Holmes. 12 Oct 2006. Imagine Earth without people. NewScientist.com Lack of maintenance will spell an early demise for buildings, roads, bridges … Continue reading

Posted in Concrete, Infrastructure & Collapse | Tagged , | Comments Off on How long will concrete last if it isn’t maintained?

Statistics. Michael Snyder’s “75 economic numbers from 2012”

Michael Snyder. 21 Dec 2012. 75 economic numbers from 2012 that are almost too crazy to believe. http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com #1 In December 2008, 31.6 million Americans were on food stamps.  Today, a new all-time record of 47.7 million Americans are on … Continue reading

Posted in Economic Decline, Economic Instability | Comments Off on Statistics. Michael Snyder’s “75 economic numbers from 2012”

Stock Market will Crash when Investors realize Peak Oil is Real

David Fridley, an expert on oil economics, worked under Chu. In an interview given in 2009, Fridley claims, “[Chu] was my boss…He knows all about peak oil, but he can’t talk about it. If the government announced that peak oil … Continue reading

Posted in Economic Instability | Comments Off on Stock Market will Crash when Investors realize Peak Oil is Real

Drought cost more than hurricane in 2012

Jeff Masters. 16 Nov 2012. Lessons from 2012: Droughts, not Hurricanes, are the Greater Danger. wunderground.com The colossal devastation and loss of life wrought by Hurricane Sandy makes the storm one of the greatest disasters in U.S. history. The storm … Continue reading

Posted in Disasters, Drought | Comments Off on Drought cost more than hurricane in 2012

$40 billion cost when levee system fails in California’s delta

Scientists estimate this would cost $40 billion dollars. 23 million Californians will have no drinking water. Up to 1 million acres of some of the best, most productive farmland in the world will disappear forever as salt water permeates the … Continue reading

Posted in Floods | Comments Off on $40 billion cost when levee system fails in California’s delta

What Will Trigger the Financial Crash?

#1 An Energy Crisis My number one vote for when the financial system worldwide collapses is when the energy shortages begin, sometime between now and the next 5 years.  Even if the depression grows worse meanwhile, that would only slow … Continue reading

Posted in Economic Instability | Tagged | Comments Off on What Will Trigger the Financial Crash?

Drought and the Food Supply

Lesk, C. January 7, 2016. Influence of extreme weather disasters on global crop production. Nature.   Drought and extreme heat events slashed cereal harvests in recent decades by 9% to 10% on average in affected countries with the greatest impact … Continue reading

Posted in Drought | Comments Off on Drought and the Food Supply

Natural Gas — How Much is Left in the USA?

Although there’s been a fracking boom for shale gas in America, many are skeptical.   We need local gas since it’s very expensive to import from overseas sources like Qatar, and we’re competing with other nations for delivery, which drives the … Continue reading

Posted in Energy, Liebig's Law, Natural Gas | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Natural Gas — How Much is Left in the USA?

Liebig’s Law Of the Minimum

Liebig’s Law of the Minimum originally applied to plants, which require 21 nutrients — if any of them are missing the plant won’t grow to it’s full potential, or not be able to grow at all.  It’s similar to the … Continue reading

Posted in 1) Decline, Liebig's Law | Comments Off on Liebig’s Law Of the Minimum