Category Archives: 3) Fast Crash

The case for a fast, rather than a slow one. Most societies crashed in 20 years or less. There has never been or will be again a crash like ours, where the world of 7 billion people became utterly dependent on a non-renewable source of energy — fossil fuels.

Telling others about peak oil and limits to growth

Posted on February 20, 2025 by

Preface. Obviously the planet is finite. We’re using many times more oil than we’re discovering, and therefore at some point global oil production will peak and decline.  In fact, global conventional and unconventional oil production peaked in 2018 and conventional … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Limits To Growth, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Escape to Mars after we’ve trashed the Earth?

Posted on January 23, 2025 by

The idea that we can go to Mars is touted by NASA, Elon Musk, and so many others that this dream seems just around the corner.  If we destroy our planet with climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, aquifer … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Extinction, Far Out, Hopium, Human Nature, Planetary Boundaries, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Spermageddon: Sperm is declining around the world

Posted on January 16, 2025 by

The rate sperm concentration is falling globally from samples collected from 1972 to 2000 (orange) and since 2000 (red) Source: Davies 2022 Preface. I’ve been seeing this issue in science news for years now. Scientific data has accumulated long enough … Continue reading →

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Who Killed the Electric Car & more importantly, the Electric Truck?

Posted on January 1, 2025 by

Preface. Who cares about electric cars? Civilization ends when trucks stop running. Trucks can’t run on batteries because they’re too heavy, with 63 times less energy density than diesel. If all U.S. transportation were to be electrified, the existing electric … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Critical Thinking, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Electrification, Transportation, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Who Killed the Electric Car & more importantly, the Electric Truck?

Why towns have a hard time adding EV, solar, heat pumps

Posted on December 10, 2024 by

Preface.  This article from IEEE does a good job of explaining how and why it is incredibly expensive for cities to cope with with L2 chargers, EV, solar, and heat pumps by zeroing in on Palo Alto, where there are … Continue reading →

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Building a national super grid in America

Posted on December 3, 2024 by

Preface. Renewables are not evenly distributed.  Just 10 states have 80% of hydropower (Homeland Security 2011), 10 states produce 75% of wind power (EIA 2017), and 10 states produce 79% of solar power (CE 2020). With a national grid, instead … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts Electric Grid, Electric Grid, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Electricity Infrastructure, National Super Grid, Solar, Vaclav Smil, Wind | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The conveyor belt may be slowing down — Yikes!

Posted on November 12, 2024 by

Preface. The conveyor belt (AMOC: Atlantic meridional overturning circulation) may be slowing down. If it stops, floods, increased sea level rise, and disturbed weather systems. Until recently the IPCC and other scientists didn’t think this might happen until 2300 or … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Peak Food, Sea Level Rise | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The conveyor belt may be slowing down — Yikes!

New war and energy alliances over next resource wars

Posted on October 29, 2024 by

Preface. My greatest fear is nuclear war over the remaining resources on earth, since that has the potential of driving us extinct.  I don’t believe there are enough fossil fuels left to do that via climate change because world conventional … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East, Over Oil | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Book review of “Siege: Trump Under fire”

Posted on October 25, 2024 by

Preface.  Wolff’s book continues the mordant humor of Fire & Fury.  His books are the best, by far, of the dozens I’ve read about the Trump Administration.  There will never be any books as insightful because Wolff was given unprecedented … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Book review of “Siege: Trump Under fire”

Why do people vote for Trump?

Posted on October 18, 2024 by

Preface. Before the election, it was widely known that Trump was a gangster who bragged about grabbing women’s asses, lied over 30,000 times during his term, went bankrupt 4 times, and much more. So how could people have voted for … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Politics | Tagged , , | 5 Comments