Category Archives: Experts

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

Why rare and valuable metals are not recycled

Posted on February 18, 2021 by

Preface. This is a post about why rare and critical metals aren’t recycled at all or at best, just a small percent. Basically it is still cheaper to mine them from scratch than to try to separate them out from … Continue reading →

Posted in Peak Critical Elements, Peak Platinum Group Elements, Peak Precious Elements, Peak Rare Earth Elements, Recycle, Recycling, Ugo Bardi | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ugo Bardi’s The Universal Mining Machine

Posted on January 19, 2021 by

Preface. Below I’ve excerpted some of Ugo Bardi’s “The Universal Mining Machine” (24 January 2008 europe.theoildrum), but I’ve left a great deal out of this excellent article, I encourage you to read all of it if you have time. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Mining, Peak Critical Elements, Ugo Bardi | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Ugo Bardi: Collapse. Where can we find a safe refuge?

Posted on June 21, 2020 by

Preface. This is from the excellent blog Cassandralegacy.blogspot.com of Ugo Bardi’s posted here. I agree that a small town or city might be best, but only if near agriculture, most towns in the desert SouthWest of the U.S. are not … Continue reading →

Posted in Ugo Bardi, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , | 2 Comments

A 1-year blackout could kill 90% of Americans

Posted on April 11, 2020 by

Preface. What follows is the 30-page testimony of Dr. Pry at a 2015 U.S. House of Representatives session that I’ve summarized. One of the ways that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) could be generated is by a solar flare. During the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts, Congressional Record U.S., Electricity Infrastructure, EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Extreme Weather, Nuclear Power Collapse, Nuclear War, U.S. Congress Energy Policy, U.S. Congress Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Paul Chefurka: More thoughts on Sustainability

Posted on March 8, 2020 by

The critical feature of sustainability isn’t how many people can be supported by the planet at any given moment in time. Rather, it is the number of humans that could live here without irreparably damaging the biosphere we depend on … Continue reading →

Posted in Paul Chefurka | Tagged | 4 Comments

Charles Hall: politicians and economy do best when oil is cheap

Posted on February 19, 2020 by

Preface. Politicians claim credit for a good economy, but what makes an economy prosperous? Cheap oil. During Trump’s reign “relatively cheap oil and gas are keeping the U.S. economy strong. But this cheap oil and gas is being partially subsidized … Continue reading →

Posted in Charles A. S. Hall | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

William Rees: Memo from a Climate Crisis Realist: The Choice before Us

Posted on February 4, 2020 by

Preface. I’m going to put Rees’ conclusion of 11 things to do first (rather than the Green New Deal, which can’t possibly work), followed by his arguments for why this needs to be done (if you haven’t read part 1 … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Expert Advice, Experts | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

William E. Rees: Don’t Call Me a Pessimist on Climate Change. I Am a Realist

Posted on February 1, 2020 by

Preface. William E. Rees is professor emeritus of human ecology and ecological economics at the University of British Columbia. He’s one of my favorite ecological writers and has written about energy, limits to growth, overshoot, sustainability and other ecological topics … Continue reading →

Posted in William Rees | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

When wood is again our main energy source, how long will it last?

Posted on January 23, 2020 by

Preface.  Just when civilization is decades from returning to wood as the main energy source (due to peak oil in 2018), climate change is allowing invasive beetles to survive winters and kill trees, with drought and wildfires increasing the damage. … Continue reading →

Posted in BioInvasion, Drought & Collapse, Nate Hagens, Where to Be or Not to Be, Wildfire, Wood | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on When wood is again our main energy source, how long will it last?

Vaclav Smil on natural gas (ethane) and plastics

Posted on December 29, 2019 by

Preface. Vaclav Smil doesn’t mention using plastic for heat, but in a letter to The Guardian, David Reed suggests: “The effort of collecting, transporting and cleaning plastics for possible recycling has largely failed, created much more pollution and contributed massively … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural Gas, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments