Category Archives: Energy

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

60 minutes promotes biomass scam

Preface. Hey 60 minutes, do some fact checking first. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer and “Crunch! Whole Grain Artisan Chips and Crackers”. Podcasts: Practical Prepping, KunstlerCast 253, KunstlerCast278, … Continue reading

Posted in Biomass, Far Out | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

What on earth is exergy?

Preface. This is one of the best explanations of exergy I’ve been able to find.  This paper makes the case that exergy ought to be considered by just about every industry and government to achieve greater energy efficiency, and makes … Continue reading

Posted in Exergy | 2 Comments

Solar PV requires too much land to replace fossils

Preface. This is a brief summary of the Capellan-Perez paper that calculates the land needed to use solar to replace electricity as well as the land needed if solar were to replace all of societies use of energy (i.e. transportation, … Continue reading

Posted in Solar | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

India wants to build dangerous fast breeder reactors

Preface. India was planning to build six fast breeder reactors in 2016, but now in 2018, they’ve reduced the number to 2.  This is despite the high cost, instability, danger, and accidents of the 16 previous world-wide attempts that have … Continue reading

Posted in Nuclear Power Energy | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on India wants to build dangerous fast breeder reactors

Germany’s wind energy mess: As subsidies expire, thousands Of turbines to close

Preface. This means that the talk about renewables being so much cheaper than anything else isn’t necessarily true.  If wind were profitable, more turbines would be built to replace the old ones  without subsidies needed. Unless they can be dumped … Continue reading

Posted in Electric Grid & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Energy Infrastructure, Wind | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Book review of Vaclav Smil’s “Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects”

Preface.  In my extract of the 178 pages in the book below, Smil explains why renewables can’t possibly replace fossil fuels, and appears to be exasperated that people believe this can be done when he writes “Common expectations of energy … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, Energy Books, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Why tar sands, a toxic ecosystem-destroying asphalt, can’t fill in for declining conventional oil

This is a book review of Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent by Andrew Nikiforuk. Many “energy experts” have said that a Manhattan tar sands project could prevent oil decline in the future.   But that’s not … Continue reading

Posted in Tar Sands (Oil Sands) | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Book: John Perlin’s “A Forest Journey: The Story of Wood and Civilization”

Preface.  This contains excerpts from John Perlin’s “A Forest Journey: The Story of Wood and Civilization”. It’s one of my favorite books about natural resources, exploring the role wood has played in the rise and fall of civilizations since they … Continue reading

Posted in Collapse of Civilizations, Collapsed & collapsing nations, Deforestation, Life Before Oil, Limits To Growth, Peak Resources, Soil, Wood | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review about why the electric grid is fragile and falling apart

Preface.  This is a book review of Munson’s “The Business of Power and what it means for the future of electricity”. Although it was written in 2008 and some efforts have been made in some places to improve the grid, … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, Blackouts Electric Grid, Books, Electricity Infrastructure, Energy Books | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Peak Oil, Coal and Natural gas in China

Preface. Below are excerpts from 2 articles.  You may want to read Tverberg’s article here since I left out the charts and included just a few excerpts. Some key points: The world needs growing energy supply to support the world … Continue reading

Posted in EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Peak Coal, Peak Natural Gas, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Peak Oil, Coal and Natural gas in China