Category Archives: Energy

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

Is there enough natural gas for everyone for everything?

[ Is there enough natural gas for products, utilities, AND transportation?  Alice Friedemann  www.energyskeptic.com] Senate 113-1. February 12, 2013. Natural gas resources S. Hrg. 113-1. U.S. Senate. ANDREW N. LIVERIS, CHAIRMAN & CEO, DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY. Dow is a major … Continue reading

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Why aren’t net energy and Energy Returned on Invested the basis of U.S. energy policy?

[ David Murphy doesn’t answer this question, but does give the history of EROI and more importantly, what this means for oil production and society.  If we are going to spend money on fossil alternatives, wouldn’t it make sense to … Continue reading

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Shale Euphoria: The Boom and Bust of Sub Prime Oil and Natural Gas

[ U.S. house hearings have stated that the U.S. is energy independent, that shale oil and gas will give us a century of energy independence: House 112-176 in 2012, House 113-1 2013, and several others.  In fact we have so … Continue reading

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Dennis Coyne predicts world coal production peak in 2025-2030

See Coyne’s article at: Dennis Coyne. March 11, 2016. Coal Shock Model. peakoilbarrel.com [ The IPCC has not invited geologists to estimate fossil reserves, and sides with the “no limits to growth” economists.  The IPCC believes that too expensive or … Continue reading

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Coal plants are causing water shortages in China

Wong, E. March 22, 2016. Report Ties Coal Plants to Water Shortage in Northern China. New York Times. China’s consumption of coal, a major contributor to climate change and the country’s horrific air pollution, is worsening a severe water shortage … Continue reading

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Don’t export LNG to Europe, they have their own natural gas

Preface. The congressional record is full of senators, representatives, and witnesses trying to sell U.S. shale “fracked” gas as LNG to Europe so that they aren’t beholden to Russia.  Well uh-oh, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the chickens have … Continue reading

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Why we need a diverse electricity generation portfolio: House hearing 2013

House 113-12. March 5, 2013. American Energy security and innovation. The role of a diverse electricity generation portfolio. House of Representatives. 135 pages. June 5, 2015. Proposed Clean Power Plan would accelerate renewable additions and coal plant retirements. U.S. Energy … Continue reading

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Why the Grid is getting less reliable. House Hearing 2013.

House 113-40. May 9, 2013. Grid reliability challenges in a shifting energy resource landscape. U.S. House of Representatives. 176 pages. Mr. Jonathan A. Lesser, President Continental Economics, Inc. [This is a really good introduction to how the grid works and … Continue reading

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Alternative fuels to replace transportation oil. U.S. House hearing 2012

House 112–159. July 10, 2012. The American energy initiative part 23: A focus on Alternative Fuels and vehicles. House of Representatives. [ Excerpts from this 210 page transcript follow ] MIKE BREEN, Vice President of the Truman National Security Project.   … Continue reading

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Carbon Capture and Storage not likely to ever be commercial: too expensive, uses up to 30% of the power

[It’s 2016 and CCS still isn’t working, and can never work because the size of the storage area is too large:  “The prospects for carbon capture (e.g., clean coal) are widely discussed. Unfortunately, what is not usually discussed is that … Continue reading

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