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.

Infrastructure interdependencies: an attack on one is an attack on all

An Attack on Energy Infrastructure would affect all other Infrastructure I should consolidate my many posts on cyber attacks, EMPs, and other ways the electric grid could come down, but our dependencies are just so widespread that I don’t want … Continue reading

Posted in CyberAttacks, Infrastructure & Collapse, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Interdependencies, Natural Gas, Oil | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Infrastructure interdependencies: an attack on one is an attack on all

Why biofuels can not scale up to replace petroleum

Preface. This is my favorite paper on why we can’t replace crude oil with biofuels.  Of course, oil is a biofuel. But alas, not renewable, since it took over 100 million years to make them. Every year we burn fossil … Continue reading

Posted in Biofuels, Oil, Peak Biofuels | Tagged , | Comments Off on Why biofuels can not scale up to replace petroleum

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

Posted in China and War, CyberAttacks, Disasters, Military, Pandemics, Peak Oil, War | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Military Threats: Peak oil, population, climate change, pandemics, economic crises, cyberattacks, failed states, nuclear war

Skyscrapers: A bad idea as energy declines

Preface. One reason Paris is such a lovely city is that it was built to human scale, with buildings of five stories or less, because that was about as high as people were willing to climb, so not surprisingly, rents … Continue reading

Posted in Blackouts, Blackouts Electric Grid, Concrete, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Infrastructure & Collapse, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, North Korea | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Skyscrapers: A bad idea as energy declines

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

Posted in 2) Overshoot, Overpopulation, Peter Turchin, Predictions, Social Disorder, Stages of, War Books | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Book review of Turchin’s “Secular Cycles” and “War & Peace & War”

Joseph Romm: we’re stealing from the next 100 billion people to walk the earth

Source: Lu (2021) Visualized: The Biggest Ponzi Schemes in Modern History. Visual Capitalist Preface. Joseph Romm writes that the exponential growth Ponzi Scheme is consuming the resources of the next 100 billion people. Our children and grandchildren.  Romm’s post was … Continue reading

Posted in Exponential Growth | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

California Governor Newsom goes furthest to soften collapse of any U.S. state

Preface. In September 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom passed 12 bills making abortion easier to obtain, and invites women from states where abortion is forbidden to come here.

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Overpopulation, Population | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on California Governor Newsom goes furthest to soften collapse of any U.S. state

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

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

Posted in Drought, Drought & Collapse, Peak Food, Scientists Warnings to Humanity | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Collapse of Mayan civilization: drought, mercury poisoning, toxic algae

Review of “Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads”

Preface.  This is a book review of Rundell’s “Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads”. If this book is right, things have gotten a lot better in Saudi Arabia than when my other review on Saudi Arabia was written … Continue reading

Posted in Middle East, Peak Oil, Peak Resources, Threats to oil supply | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Human sprawl and wildlife destruction: a book review of “Nature Wars”

Preface.  This is a book review of Sterba’s “Nature Wars” and our interaction with wildlife as our insanely huge population growth wipes out nature.

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Natural History, Overpopulation | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Human sprawl and wildlife destruction: a book review of “Nature Wars”