Category Archives: Agriculture

Collapse of Mayan civilization: drought, mercury poisoning, toxic algae

Posted on March 12, 2023 by

Preface. Drought is probably reason #1, but collapse is complex, I’ve seen lists of over 200 reasons for the Fall of the Roman Empire, and our own fall will have even more causes, though triggered by energy decline, since for … Continue reading →

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Peak oil, food & the “King of Chemicals” sulfuric acid

Posted on December 2, 2022 by

Preface. I first learned of sulfur’s existence when my grandmother told me how she loved going to tent revivals on the edge of town where it was common for preachers to get converts by burning sulfur to make the fire … Continue reading →

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Look Before you Eat

Posted on September 30, 2022 by

Preface. This post is a book review of Be Wilson’s Swindled. From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee – The Dark History of the Food Cheats. Wilson explains why cheating has always gone on and always will, especially in societies with … Continue reading →

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Electric Swarm Tractors

Posted on April 21, 2022 by

Preface.  In both my books Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy & When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation, I write that since most “renewables” generate electricity (i.e. wind, solar, nuclear, hydropower, compressed … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Trucks: Electric | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Why it is hard to replace diesel with biodiesel

Posted on April 12, 2022 by

Biodiesel is the great hope, our main hope, the only renewable fuel of all the many options, and the closest to the diesel essential for rail, trucks, and ships to do the actual work of civilization. The U.S. produces over … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiesel, Food production, Oil, Peak Biofuels, Peak Food, Transportation, Water | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Corn for ethanol & soy for biodiesel tremendously destructive

Posted on April 9, 2022 by

In the news: Cullen A (2024) Corn Belt fertilizer is killing the Gulf of Mexico. Washington Post. About 30 percent of the nitrogen applied for raising corn is lost to water, and much of it right now is draining off … Continue reading →

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Limits to Growth: Natural gas fertilizer that feeds 4 billion of us

Posted on March 30, 2022 by

Preface.  In chapter 4 of my book “Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy“, I explain how it came to be that fertilizer is made out of natural gas, using the energy of natural gas, and why … Continue reading →

Posted in Life After Fossil Fuels, Limits To Growth, Natural Gas, Peak Food, Starvation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

USGS Groundwater Depletion study of aquifer decline in the U.S.

Posted on January 7, 2022 by

Preface. I summarize two major research papers on the state of the Ogallal below.  It and many other aquifers are depleting rapidly, and polluted from pesticides, feedlot waste, intruding salts, and other pollution. Rainfall isn’t replenishing the Ogallala. Many won’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Government study predictions, Groundwater, Peak Food, Peak Water | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Nitrogen Bomb: fossil-fueled fertilizers keep billions of us alive

Posted on August 30, 2021 by

Preface. There are two articles below that explain why natural gas fertilizers are keeping at least 4 billion of us alive today.  If you’re interested in this topic, here are a few more to read: Erisman JW, Sutton MA, Galloway … Continue reading →

Posted in Farming & Ranching, Life After Fossil Fuels, Natural Gas, Overpopulation, Peak Food | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Livestock threatened by toxic invasive species on rangeland

Posted on January 4, 2021 by

Preface.  Will cattle, sheep,goats, and horses have to be raised on feed lots in the future to prevent range land poisoning from invasive plants? Each year poisonous plants adversely affect 3-5% of the cattle, sheep, and horses that graze western … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity, BioInvasion, Farming & Ranching, Peak Food | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments