Category Archives: Energy

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

EV cars and utility scale energy storage batteries are not likely to materialize

Posted on September 21, 2020 by

Preface.  Clearly there’s not enough minerals and metals to shift from fossil fuels to electric vehicles and utility scale battery storage, due to peak critical elements, peak platinum group elements, peak precious elements, peak rare earth elements, and peak everything … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Battery - Utility Scale, Peak Lithium | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

How much oil left in America? Not much

Posted on September 18, 2020 by

Preface. If you think we have no worries because we can get arctic oil, think again. We can’t because icebergs mow drilling platforms down in the ocean. On land, massive amounts of expensive new drilling rigs, roads, rail lines, platforms, … Continue reading →

Posted in How Much Left, Peak Oil | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Reforestation can cause rivers to disappear

Posted on September 6, 2020 by

Preface. We’ll need a lot of forests in the future when wood once again becomes our may source of energy and infrastructure as it was before fossil fuels. But care needs to be taken on where trees are planted. Alice … Continue reading →

Posted in Deforestation, Farming & Ranching, Wood | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Will life after peak oil be like the middle ages?

Posted on September 2, 2020 by

Preface.  Winston recreates what life was like from the 5th to the 15th centuries — from the fall of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the Renaissance. Energyskeptic.com shows why hydrogen, wind, solar, geothermal, nuclear, fusion, and other alternatives … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Biomass, Life Before Oil | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Wave, tidal, ocean current, in-stream, & ocean thermal power

Posted on August 27, 2020 by

Preface. This is mainly a review of the 2013 National Research Council’s report on harvesting marine energy from waves, tides, temperature differences, currents, and run-of-river.  But also the latest projects and other evidence related to the energy that can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Waves & Tidal | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Golden Age of Russian Oil Nears an End

Posted on August 15, 2020 by

Preface.  One huge factor in Russia’s future oil decline not mentioned below is how incredibly corrupt and inefficient Russia’s oil and gas companies are, as Rachel Maddow describes in her book “Blowout”. A few quotes: The Russian oil and gas … Continue reading →

Posted in How Much Left, Peak Oil | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Natural Gas essential for energy storage

Posted on August 12, 2020 by

Preface.  The U.S. Department of energy has admitted that a renewable grid is impossible without long-duration storage (LDES) and plans to hand out half a billion dollars to commercialize (LDES) (Colthorpe 2022).  Another recent report also argues that round-the-clock renewables … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts, Energy Storage, Natural Gas, Natural Gas Energy Storage | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Far out #3: Sugar power

Posted on August 9, 2020 by

Preface. No, you object, sugar in the gas tank will destroy the engine. Not true. Snopes.com says that won’t happen because sugar doesn’t dissolve in automotive fuel or caramelize, and so it does not turn into the debilitating gunk this … Continue reading →

Posted in Far Out | Tagged | Comments Off on Far out #3: Sugar power

Limits to growth: Oil & Gas Fracking sand

Posted on August 6, 2020 by

Preface.  Below is an excerpt about fracking sand from Beiser’s 2018 book “The World in a Grain. The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization”. In 2022 fracking sand has gotten so expensive it’s a factor in why production … Continue reading →

Posted in Limits To Growth, Oil & Gas Fracked, Peak Sand | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell trucks a waste of energy and money

Posted on July 30, 2020 by

Preface. There are 3 articles that I summarize below: ARB. November 2015. Medium- and heavy-duty fuel cell electric vehicles. Air Resources Board, California Environmental Protection Agency. NRC. 2003. Energy and Transportation: Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century. … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Hydrogen, Trucks: Electric | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments