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.

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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Most plastic isn’t recycled, burns in fires at recycling centers

Posted on November 18, 2022 by

Preface.  Plastics are just one of 500,000 products made out of oil and gas, but very important to just about every aspect of society, from making vehicles lighter so go further using less energy, to clothes, food storage, bags, toothbrushes, … Continue reading →

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PFAS and other forever chemicals are an existential threat

Posted on November 11, 2022 by

Source: Byrd J (2022) What is PFAs in Drinking Water? Water filter Guru. Preface. PFAS are a class of about 15,000 chemicals often used to make products resistant to water, stains and heat. The compounds are ubiquitous, and linked at … Continue reading →

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The nine boundaries we must not cross or we may go extinct

Posted on November 4, 2022 by

Preface. This post has excerpts from the famous paper by Rockström et al (2009) as well as a more recent proposal by Running (2012) on an easier measure of how close we’re coming to rendering the planet uninhabitable. We have … Continue reading →

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Hydrogen hopium: Storage

Posted on October 21, 2022 by

Source: Russel Rhodes (2011) Explosive Lessons in Hydrogen Safety. https://appel.nasa.gov/2011/02/02/explosive-lessons-in-hydrogen-safety/ Preface.  What is hopium? Irrational or unwarranted optimism. An addiction to false hopes. A metaphorical substance that causes people to believe in a false hope (H + opium). And Hopium … Continue reading →

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Hydrogen hopium: green hydrogen from water

Posted on October 14, 2022 by

Additional energy consuming steps not shown: pumping water to the electrolyzer, purifying the water, compressing or liquefying to -423 F, pumping into storage container, the trucks to deliver H to stations costing $75 million each, since pipelines are super expensive … Continue reading →

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The French Energy Sobriety Plan

Posted on October 7, 2022 by

Preface.  Below is the announcement of the French Energy Sobriety Plan by Prime Minister Borne. The energy crisis is coming to all nations, and we should all be implementing their action plan (and family planning, birth control, abortion, limited immigration). … 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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How the grid works, why a distributed grid won’t work

Posted on September 23, 2022 by

Preface. This is a book review of Angwin’s 2020 “Shorting the Grid. The Hidden Fragility of Our Electric Grid”. It is a good primer on how the grid works, especially why Volt-Ampere Reactives (VARs) are important and why renewables don’t … Continue reading →

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Book Review of “War: How Conflict Shaped Us”

Posted on September 2, 2022 by

Preface.  This is a very profound and wide-ranging book about many aspects of war, the reasons for fighting, what it’s like to be a soldier, women’s roles during wars, the history and future of war, and more, a really outstanding … Continue reading →

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