Category Archives: Experts

experts in energy, ecology, collapse, carrying capacity, biophysical and neoclassical economics, etc.

550,000 abandoned mines, $50 billion to clean up the worst of them

Preface. Below are excerpts of a US House 2010 congressional hearing on cleaning up abandoned mines. Abandoned mines can cause soil erosion, heavy metal contamination (i.e., cyanide, lead, arsenic, mercury, uranium), and acid drainage that threatens thousands of streams and … Continue reading

Posted in Congressional Record U.S., Hazardous Waste, Mining, Pollution, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Military Threats: Peak oil, population, climate change, pandemics, economic crises, cyberattacks, failed states, nuclear war

Mackintosh C (2010) Peak Oil “The debate is over”. Permaculture research institute. https://www.permaculturenews.org/2010/11/10/peak-oil-the-debate-is-over/ Preface. The military is more realistic about the challenges the world faces than congress or other branches and government agencies. In 2010, all of the military branches … Continue reading

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Book review of Turchin’s “Secular Cycles” and “War & Peace & War”

Preface. This is a book review of both “Secular Cycles” and “War & Peace & War”.  I recommend reading “War & Peace & War” first, then the more difficult “Secular Cycles”. Turchin has found patterns in the rise and fall … Continue reading

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Energy and potato crops. U.S. House Hearing 2011

Preface. We eat so many potatoes I thought it interesting how future oil shocks may reduce potato crops. Potatoes are very “oily” needing a great deal of diesel fuel over their life cycle of planting, harvest, delivery to sorting, grading, … Continue reading

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Dennis Meadows of Limits to Growth: Collapse inevitable

Preface. Dennis Meadows is a co-author of The Limits to Growth.  In 1972, the team of 66 scientists he assembled for the original Limits to Growth study concluded the most probable result will be a rather sudden and uncontrollable decline … Continue reading

Posted in Limits To Growth, Peak Oil History | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

The nine boundaries we must not cross or we may go extinct

Preface. This post has excerpts from the famous paper by Rockström et al (2009) as well as a more recent proposal by Running (2012) on an easier measure of how close we’re coming to rendering the planet uninhabitable. The media … Continue reading

Posted in Acidification, Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, Extinction, Planetary Boundaries, Pollution, Sea Level Rise, Water, World's Best Scientists | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The nine boundaries we must not cross or we may go extinct

Heinberg on how to avoid an energy crisis

Visualcapitalist (2022) Europe’s Energy Crisis. European gas prices have skyrocketed 8x higher than their 10-year average, throwing the continent into crisis. Preface.  I sure hope that government leaders are reading Heinberg’s columns, since action needs to take place at a … Continue reading

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The French Energy Sobriety Plan

Preface.  Below is the announcement of the French Energy Sobriety Plan by Prime Minister Borne. The energy crisis is coming to all nations, and we should all be implementing their action plan (and family planning, birth control, abortion, limited immigration). … Continue reading

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Understanding peak oil theory 2005 U.S. House

Preface. With world oil production likely having peaked in 2018 (as documented in chapter 2 of Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy), this seemed like a good time to go revisit peak oil history. What follows … Continue reading

Posted in Peak Oil, Peak Oil History, U.S. Congress Energy Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Highlights of the Denver Peak Oil 2005 conference

Preface. I just added the category “Peak Oil History” because I believe the coming oil crisis will be a complete surprise to the vast majority of the public who are unaware of the role fossil fuels play in our civilization, … Continue reading

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