Category Archives: Energy

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

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 →

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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

Methane apocalypse? Not likely.

Posted on July 24, 2020 by

Preface. The four articles below explain why methane from permafrost or hydrates are not likely to erupt abruptly and send Earth into a hothouse hell.  In addition, here are some posts debunking Guy McPherson who believes the world will end … Continue reading →

Posted in CO2 and Methane, Methane Hydrates | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Far out #5 (satire): Biofuels made from the victims of climate change, potato power, founding fathers spinning in graves

Posted on July 15, 2020 by

Preface. The “breakthroughs” you read about in batteries, hydrogen, and other so-called renewables are just as unlikely to happen Alice Friedemann  www.energyskeptic.com  Author of Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy; When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and … Continue reading →

Posted in Far Out | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Far out power #2: Soap, Raindrops, Hyperloops, and Fitness Centers

Posted on July 12, 2020 by

Preface. Anything goes at a time when the energy crisis hasn’t even hit. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer, Barriers to Making Algal Biofuels, and “Crunch! Whole Grain Artisan … Continue reading →

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Nuclear powered airplanes, cars, and tanks

Posted on July 3, 2020 by

Preface. If trucks, tractors, ships, locomotives, and airplanes can’t run on electricity or the electric grid stay up without natural gas to balance wind & solar (see When Trucks Stop Running), if cement and steel and other products requiring the … Continue reading →

Posted in Airplanes, Automobiles, Far Out, Nuclear Power Energy | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Distribution – why it is so hard to add E15 or E85 at a gas station

Posted on June 30, 2020 by

Preface. One of the huge hurdles to shifting from oil to “something else” is the chicken-or-egg problem of no one buying a new-fuel vehicle with few places to get it, so few are made, so service stations don’t add the … Continue reading →

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