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- Escape to Mars after we’ve trashed the Earth?
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- President Carter’s energy solutions 1977
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- Building a national super grid in America
Category Archives: Energy
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
Posted in China, Gail Tverberg, Peak Coal, Peak Natural Gas, Peak Oil
Tagged peak coal, peak natural gas, peak oil
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Why studies come up with different Energy Returned on Invest (EROI) results: can it be fixed?
[ There are many issues with biofuels beyond their trivial to negative energy return on investment (EROI). In Peak Soil I point out that current industrial farming techniques are destroying topsoil about 15 times faster than pre-fossil fuel economies — … Continue reading
Posted in Biofuels, Biomass EROI, Charles A. S. Hall
Tagged biomass, EROEI, EROI, ethanol
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Murphy & Hall 2011 Adjusting the economy to the new energy realities of the second half of the age of oil
[ Below are excerpts from this 5 page paper, slightly rearranged, go here to see all of the text, figures, and tables. Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation, 2015, Springer] Murphy, … Continue reading
The electromagnetic pulse EMP Threat: House of Representatives hearing 2005
[ Related articles: Russian hackers suspected in attack that blacked out parts of Ukraine How the weapon works (pdf): CRASHOVERRIDE Analyzing the Threat to Electric Grid Operations The EMP Commission estimates a nationwide blackout lasting one year could kill up … Continue reading
Posted in Blackouts, EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Nuclear spent fuel fire
Tagged electromagnetic pulse, EMP, geomagnetic storm, nuclear, spent pool
1 Comment
The Devil’s Scenario – near miss at Fukushima is a warning for U.S.
[ The most likely event to trigger a loss of power long enough to cause a spent fuel pool zirconium fire meltdown and release of radioactive particles into the atmosphere is a nuclear or natural geomagnetic storm electromagnetic pulse (see … Continue reading
Why railroads are against running locomotives on natural gas
Since oil is finite, natural gas was seen as a fuel that could extend how long oil lasted by being a “bridge” fuel. Since natural gas is finite also, and would lead to dependence on unstable foreign nations, the plan … Continue reading
Posted in LNG Liquified Natural Gas, Natural Gas Vehicles, Railroads
Tagged CNG, LNG, natural gas, railroad
2 Comments
EROI explained and defended by Charles Hall, Pedro Prieto, and others
[ If you found this post interesting, the following posts are even better (more detailed and in-depth): Tilting at Windmills, Spain’s disastrous attempt to replace fossil fuels with Solar PV, Part 1 Tilting at Windmills, Spain’s disastrous attempt to replace … Continue reading
Posted in Charles A. S. Hall, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Pedro Prieto
Tagged Charles Hall, EROEI, EROI, Pedro Prieto
3 Comments
Coal power plants depend on railroads to deliver coal
[ The extract of a Senate hearing below is mostly spent on testimony by utilities bashing the railroads for not delivering enough coal due to a disaster in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming area, where coal dust infiltrated the stone … Continue reading
Posted in Blackouts, Coal, Interdependencies, Railroads, Transportation Infrastructure
Tagged climate change, coal, CTL, electric grid, interdependency, railroad, transportation
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Alternative Energy Booklist: Biofuels, Batteries, Solar, Wind, Nuclear, Hydropower, Hydrogen, Fusion, Geothermal, Wind & tidal, Muscle power, Far out
Why Alternative Energy can’t replace fossil fuels More booklists Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com Author of Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy; When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, Barriers to Making Algal Biofuels, & … Continue reading
Posted in Alternative Energy, Book List
Tagged fusion, geothermal, hydrogen, solar, wave, wind
1 Comment
Tilting at Windmills, Spain’s disastrous attempt to replace fossil fuels with Solar PV, Part 2
Preface. Below is a book review of Charles Hall’s 2017 book, “Energy Return on Investment: A Unifying Principle for Biology, Economics, and Sustainability“, that he wrote to discover why solar advocate EROI results are so much higher than what was … Continue reading
Posted in Charles A. S. Hall, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Pedro Prieto, Photovoltaic Solar, Solar EROI
Tagged capacity credit, EROEI, EROI, solar PV
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