Category Archives: Energy

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

Wind and solar need natural gas to balance intermittent, variable, and seasonal power

Preface. The highest wind states are getting more and more dependent on natural gas to balance wind and solar as they live and die. Yet conventional natural gas in the U.S. has peaked (half of our national gas, and declining … Continue reading

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The effects of Middle East events on U.S. Energy markets

[ Of note from this U.S. House 2011 hearing: John Hofmeister, former President of Shell Oil.  Matt Simmons, who passed away this past summer, used to speak of the Straits of Hormuz as, we live one day away from an … Continue reading

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Minerals: Natural gas from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Preface. This is just a small sampling of what Bardi thinks might happen post fossil fuels, mostly shortened and reworded. Here are 7 other posts from this great book: Mining: Waste, Pollution, Destruction Ugo Bardi predictions of the future Minerals … Continue reading

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California hits the solar wall

[ What is a solar wall?  Read part 1: California could hit the solar wall and then excerpts from the following article in the financial times, Britain’s Wall street journal.  I’ve also reworded some of it. Renewables are rendering existing … Continue reading

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Minerals: Coal from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Preface. This is just a small sampling of what Bardi thinks might happen post fossil fuels, mostly shortened and reworded. Here are 7 other posts from this great book: Mining: Waste, Pollution, Destruction Ugo Bardi predictions of the future Minerals … Continue reading

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America’s energy future. U.S. House hearing 2011

[  It’s always good to look back in time to when our representatives were worried about our dependency on oil.  Apparently they were desperate, since the proposed H.R. 909 bill included Coal-To-Liquids (CTL), much of it for the military.  I … Continue reading

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The Peak Oil paradox revisited by Euan Mearns

Euan Mearns. July 16, 2016. The Peak Oil Paradox Revisited. theautomaticearth.com Euan Mearns: Back in the mid-noughties the peak oil meme gained significant traction in part due to The Oil Drum blog where I played a prominent role. Sharply rising … Continue reading

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Art Berman: Oil Prices Lower Forever? Hard Times In A Failing Global Economy

Art Berman. July 15, 2016. Oil Prices Lower Forever? Hard Times In A Failing Global Economy. Forbes. A pumpjack sits on the outskirts of town at dawn in the Permian Basin oil field on January 21 in the oil town … Continue reading

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M. King Hubbert and the future of peak oil by Kurt Cobb

Preface. M. King Hubbert predicted that if we were unable to replace fossil energy with water, nuclear and solar power, that we would go back to an agrarian existence (Hubbert MK (1949) Energy from Fossil Fuels. Science). That is how … Continue reading

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Gail Tverberg: Why peak coal, oil, and natural gas will all happen at the same time

China: Is peak coal part of its problem? by Gail Tverberg,  OurFiniteWorld.com  | Jun 20, 2016 The world’s coal resources are clearly huge. How could China, or the world in total, reach peak coal in a timeframe that makes a … Continue reading

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