Category Archives: Energy

the posts in this category used to be in “Energy in A Nutshell” at my former web site.

Escape to Mars after we’ve trashed the Earth?

The idea that we can go to Mars is touted by NASA, Elon Musk, and so many others that this dream seems just around the corner.  If we destroy our planet with climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, aquifer … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Extinction, Far Out, Hopium, Human Nature, Planetary Boundaries, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Thorium nuclear bombs and reactors have too many challenges

Preface.  I can not explain in a blog all the nuances and complexities of the harm and dangers of nuclear power and weapons. Yet it is such an important technology to understand, since it may be the greatest threat to … Continue reading

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Who Killed the Electric Car & more importantly, the Electric Truck?

Preface. Who cares about electric cars? Civilization ends when trucks stop running. Trucks can’t run on batteries because they’re too heavy (93% of the cargo weight, 25% of the cargo space), and an all-electric truck fleet would require thousands of … Continue reading

Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Critical Thinking, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Electrification, Transportation, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Who Killed the Electric Car & more importantly, the Electric Truck?

Why towns have a hard time adding EV, solar, heat pumps

Preface.  This article from IEEE does a good job of explaining how and why it is incredibly expensive for cities to cope with with L2 chargers, EV, solar, and heat pumps by zeroing in on Palo Alto, where there are … Continue reading

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Building a national super grid in America

Preface. Renewables are not evenly distributed.  Just 10 states have 80% of hydropower (Homeland Security 2011), 10 states produce 75% of wind power (EIA 2017), and 10 states produce 79% of solar power (CE 2020). With a national grid, instead … Continue reading

Posted in Blackouts Electric Grid, Electric Grid, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Electricity Infrastructure, National Super Grid, Solar, Vaclav Smil, Wind | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Deep Sea Oil

Preface. Peak oil was reached in November of 2018, but we aren’t out of oil, just halfway through.  Giant fields continue to be found, but in the deep ocean or arctic where it is expensive to drill. Below are some … Continue reading

Posted in How Much Left | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Book review of “Livewired. The inside story of the ever-changing brain”

Preface. This book conveys a sense of wonderment and awe about our brains work and how we become who we are.  I think if you read the excerpts below you will understand why Artificial Intelligence will probably never come close … Continue reading

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Battery Energy storage batteries (BESS) too complex to ever be commercial

Source: RWE connects its first utility-scale battery storage project to the California grid Preface.  In 2024 if all of the BESS battery storage time were added up, they could store 8 of the 8,760 hours of annual electricity generated in … Continue reading

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Net Energy Cliff & the Collapse of Civilization

The remaining oil is poor quality, and the energy to get this often remote oil so great that more and more energy (blue) goes into oil production itself, leaving far less — the grey area — available to fuel the … Continue reading

Posted in 2) Collapse, 3) Fast Crash, An Overview, Energy, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Net Energy Cliff, Stages of | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Giant oil field decline rates, peak oil, & reserves

Preface. Of the roughly 47,500 oil fields in the world, 507 of them, about 1%, are giant oil fields holding nearly two-thirds of all the oil that has ever been, or ever will be produced, with the largest 100 giants, … Continue reading

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