Category Archives: Energy

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

The orbiting solar power fantasy

Posted on June 22, 2021 by

Preface. This 2020 article “Solar Power Beamed Down To Earth From Space Moves Forward” will leave you all warm, fuzzy, and unworried about the future. The Scientists Will Come Up With Something.  But that’s because you know little to nothing … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Critical Thinking, Far Out, Orbiting Solar | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Negative energy return of solar PV in Northern Europe

Posted on June 16, 2021 by

Preface.  I once yanked this paper after huge blow back, almost as bad as nuclear proponents, but in the past few years, I have no reason to doubt Ferroni and Hopkirks methods, boundaries, or conclusions, so I’m putting this post … Continue reading →

Posted in Photovoltaic Solar, Solar EROI | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Negative energy return of solar PV in Northern Europe

Why we aren’t mining methane hydrates now — or perhaps ever

Posted on June 10, 2021 by

Preface. Methane hydrates are far from being commercial, and probably always will be. Scientists and companies have been trying to exploit them since the first energy crisis in 1973 to no avail. Nor are they likely to trigger a runaway … Continue reading →

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Pentagon report: collapse within 20 years from climate change

Posted on May 23, 2021 by

Preface. The report that the article by Ahmed below is based on is: Brosig, M., et al. 2019. Implications of climate change for the U.S. Army. United States Army War College. It was written in 2019, before covid-19 and so … Continue reading →

Posted in Arctic, Blackouts, Climate Change, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Military, Over Oil | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

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

Why fusion power is Forever Away

Posted on May 13, 2021 by

Preface. When my husband Jeffery Kahn was a science writer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, we became friends with several astrophysicists who used to joke about how fusion was 30 years away and always would be. If world peak oil … Continue reading →

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Compressed air energy storage (CAES)

Posted on May 11, 2021 by

Preface. Besides pumped hydro storage (PHS), which provides 99% of energy storage today, CAES is the only other commercially proven energy storage technology that can provide large-scale (over 100 MW) energy storage. But there are just two CAES plants in … Continue reading →

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Peak oil in the news 2023

Posted on May 2, 2021 by

Preface. Conventional crude oil production may have already peaked in 2008 at 69.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) according to Europe’s International Energy Agency (IEA 2018 p45). The U.S. Energy Information Agency shows global peak crude oil production at a … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil & Gas Fracked, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material & the Construction of Civilization

Posted on April 23, 2021 by

Preface. This is a book review, mainly with excerpts, of Ennos’s book “The Age of Wood. Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization”. If you know anything about woodworking, you will enjoy the detailed descriptions of how and … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Books, Jobs and Skills, Life After Fossil Fuels, Wood | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tree planting is not a simple solution but sure beats Carbon Capture!

Posted on April 20, 2021 by

Preface.  The article from Science below lists both negative and positive outcomes depending on where trees are planted. The unintended negative effects could be a reduced water supply, the destruction of native grasslands and spread of invasive tree species, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS), Plant Trees | Tagged , , | 4 Comments