Category Archives: Water

Do you want to eat, drink, or fly?

Posted on December 6, 2023 by

Preface.  In this post the New York Times writes about renewable airplane fuel from corn ethanol, and questions whether there is enough water and a few other problems.  First I’m going to summarize their issues with this, and then follow … Continue reading →

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The nine boundaries we must not cross or we may go extinct

Posted on November 4, 2022 by

Preface. This post has excerpts from the famous paper by Rockström et al (2009) as well as a more recent proposal by Running (2012) on an easier measure of how close we’re coming to rendering the planet uninhabitable. The media … Continue reading →

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Hydrogen hopium: green hydrogen from water

Posted on October 14, 2022 by

Additional energy consuming steps not shown: pumping water to the electrolyzer, purifying the water, compressing or liquefying to -423 F, pumping into storage container, the trucks to deliver H to stations costing $75 million each, since pipelines are super expensive … Continue reading →

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Why it is hard to replace diesel with biodiesel

Posted on April 12, 2022 by

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 , , | 1 Comment

Climate change will damage energy infrastructure, costing trillions

Posted on January 28, 2022 by

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 →

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USGS Groundwater Depletion study of aquifer decline in the U.S.

Posted on January 7, 2022 by

Preface. I summarize two major research papers on the state of the Ogallal below.  It and many other aquifers are depleting rapidly, and polluted from pesticides, feedlot waste, intruding salts, and other pollution. Rainfall isn’t replenishing the Ogallala. Many won’t … Continue reading →

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Water Theft

Posted on September 23, 2021 by

Preface. As fresh water supplies are depleted worldwide and water crises increase, water theft is becoming more common.  And damage to marine environments as well. It is estimated that between 30% and 50% of the global water supply is stolen … Continue reading →

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Aquifer decline in California

Posted on September 17, 2021 by

Preface. On top of aquifer depletion, water shortages in California are also expected in the future as rainfall and snowfall decline and snow melts earlier. Over half of Americans rely on underground aquifers for drinking water (Glennon 2002). Seventy percent … Continue reading →

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Updates to Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy

Posted on May 14, 2021 by

Updates to “Life After Fossil Fuels” Last updated 28 April 2024. Other posts related to this book here. My book is about our many dependencies on fossil fuels, quickly depicted in these very short videos:  Life without Petroleum  A Day … Continue reading →

Posted in Biofuels, Fusion, Groundwater, How Much Left, Hydrogen, Life After Fossil Fuels, Peak Water | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Climate change impacts on agriculture

Posted on July 6, 2020 by

Preface. There are three articles below on this topic.  Plus these articles in the news: Nakagawa T et al (2021) The spatio-temporal structure of the Lateglacial to early Holocene transition reconstructed from the pollen record of Lake Suigetsu and its … Continue reading →

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