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.

Rees on Overshoot: Growth through contraction: conceiving an eco-economy

Posted on February 28, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. William Rees writes some of the best and most comprehensible papers of all on the overshoot crisis we are in. We should have begun a U-turn in the 60s after The Population Bomb, or the 70s when Limits to … Continue reading →

Posted in Limits To Growth, Overshoot, William Rees | Tagged contraction, ecological footprint, limits to growth, localization, overshoot, steady-state economy | Comments Off

Lithium-ion battery recycling, environmental impact, energy used

Posted on February 25, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. The future of both electric vehicles and utility-scale energy storage are depending on lithium-ion batteries because of their high energy-density, and even though lithium is limited, it’s about the only kind of battery being made for transport (because it … Continue reading →

Posted in Lithium-ion, Recycle, Recycling | Tagged battery, energy, environmental impact, LCA, recycle, toxicity | Comments Off

Why the world can’t run on biodiesel from algae

Posted on February 19, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. This is an article I published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it’s also similar to “Chapter 25 Biodiesel from Algae” in my book Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy. And within this post is a … Continue reading →

Posted in Algae, Alternative Energy, Biomass, Energy, Peak Biofuels | Tagged algae, algae cost per barrel, algae EREOI, algae EROI, algae fuel, algae oil, fuel from algae, peak biofuels, problems with algae, skeptic, synthetic organisms | Comments Off

Jellyfish in the news

Posted on February 16, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. As we overfish, eutrophy and acidify the ocean with fertilizer and pesticides we risk a tipping point where jellyfish dominate the oceans and fish are scarce. Related: Why and how Jellyfish are taking over the world Alice Friedemann www.energyskeptic.com … Continue reading →

Posted in BioInvasion, Extinction, Jellyfish | Tagged Bioinvasion, jellyfish, slime | Comments Off

Why EV Batteries aren’t being recycled

Posted on February 13, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. Talk to your typical capitalist / environmentalist and they will both agree that we will never run out of anything because we can recycle. But we aren’t. Especially since it’s cheaper to buy newly mined metals than to recycle … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Mining, Recycle, Recycling | Tagged battery, EV, manufacturing, metal, mineral, mining, recycle | Comments Off

Is there a long emergency plan for peak oil?

Posted on February 8, 2022 by energyskeptic

Source: A year on the midieval farm https://www.medievalists.net/2014/06/year-medieval-farm/ Last updated March 2022. Ever since I learned about peak oil in 2000 after reading my grandfather Pettijohn’s memoir (Pettijohn 1984), I’ve wondered what The Plan To Cope with Oil Decline … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Energy Policy & Politicians, Farming & Ranching, Government on what to do, Military, guns, Over Oil | Tagged agriculture, carrying capacity, dawn of everything, emergency plans, long emergency, peak oil, war, weapons | Comments Off

Peak Fossil Fuels: overview of world peak oil, peak coal, & peak natural gas

Posted on February 4, 2022 by energyskeptic

Last updated 2022-6-24 Preface. Below are overviews of peak oil, coal, and natural gas, each followed by additional reading material from my book “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, which explains why we are unlikely to … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal, How Much Left, Natural Gas, Peak Coal, Peak Natural Gas, Peak Oil | Tagged peak coal, peak fossil fuel, peak natural gas, peak oil | 1 Comment

Climate change will damage energy infrastructure, costing trillions

Posted on January 28, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. Climate change and extreme weather will harm oil and gas exploration and production, electric power generation and increase energy demand due to sea level rise, heat, drought, floods, more storms, and blackouts. Extreme heat and drought will force electric … Continue reading →

Posted in Blackouts Electric Grid, Cascading Failure, Climate Change, Electric Grid, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Energy Production, Hydropower, Peak Water, Ships and Barges | Tagged barge, drought, extreme storms, flood, heat, peak water, sea level rise, wildfire | Comments Off

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

Posted on January 7, 2022 by energyskeptic

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 aquifer, california, depletion, groundwater, Ogallala, USGS | 1 Comment

Your life and the economy depend on biodiversity

Posted on January 1, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. We are trained in school, newspapers, and TV to view the world politically and economically. Not ecologically. The World Economic Forum article below is an excellent summary of why biodiversity is so important, as much as climate change, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Limits To Growth | Tagged biodiversity, ecology, ecosystems, limits to growth | Comments Off