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.

Not enough fossil fuels left to trigger another mass extinction

Posted on September 11, 2021 by

Preface. Since both conventional and unconventional oil peaked in 2018, we clearly won’t be burning fossils at exponentially increasing rates until 2400 as the IPCC expected. Quite the opposite, currently the decline rate of oil is 8% a year, which … Continue reading →

Posted in But not from climate change: Peak Fossil Fuels, CO2 and Methane, Global Warming, Mass Extinction, Planetary Boundaries, Runaway Greenhouse | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Soil salinity and erosion

Posted on September 2, 2021 by

Preface.  Civilizations fail when their soils are ruined or eroded.  One way conquerors made sure that those they enslaved during wars was to salt their land and burn their homes so they had nowhere to escape to. Erosion is an … Continue reading →

Posted in Peak Topsoil, Scientists Warnings to Humanity, Soil | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Can democracy survive peak oil?

Posted on August 27, 2021 by

Preface.  This is a book review of Howard Bucknell’s Energy and the National Defense.  University of Kentucky Press. Bucknell was amazingly prescient as you’ll see in this review, especially about why democracy might not survive the energy crisis. Heck, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, Energy Books, Military, Politics, Rationing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Energy abundance depends entirely on the RATE of energy flow

Posted on August 24, 2021 by

Preface. Below are excerpts from two articles on why the FLOW RATE of oil is what matters for our fossil-fueled civilization. It’s like how, when filling up a bathtub, you want to turn the faucet on as high as it … Continue reading →

Posted in Flow Rate, How Much Left, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Energy abundance depends entirely on the RATE of energy flow

Diesel is finite. Trucks are the bedrock of civilization. So where are the battery electric trucks?

Posted on August 17, 2021 by

Last updated: 2023-1-21 Preface. Heavy-duty diesel-engine trucks (agricultural, mining, logging, construction, garbage, cement, 18-wheelers, and more) are essential for doing the actual work of our fossil-fueled civilization. Without them, no goods would be delivered, no food grown, nothing manufactured, no … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Trucks: Electric | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Was the fall of the Roman Empire due to plagues & climate change?

Posted on July 20, 2021 by

Preface. Harper (2017) shows the brutal effects of plagues and climate change on the Roman Empire. McConnell (2020) proposes that a huge volcanic eruption in Alaska was a factor in bringing the Roman Empire  and Cleopatra’s Egypt down. In addition, … Continue reading →

Posted in Pandemic Fast Crash, Roman Empire | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Biogas from cow manure is not a solution for the energy crisis

Posted on July 17, 2021 by

Preface. Smil’s article about biogas sums up why it won’t contribute to energy shortages as fossils decline. Biogass doesn’t scale and is easy to muck up. Hayes (2015) also makes this case, pointing out that even if every ounce of … Continue reading →

Posted in Biofuels, Biomass EROI, Peak Biofuels, Pollution | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Next Big Thing: Distributed Generation & Microgrids

Posted on July 14, 2021 by

  Preface. Last updated 2022-9-5   The first article below explains what microgrids will look like in the future.  But first a brief look at what a microgrid is, as Angwin explains in her book  “Shorting the Grid. The Hidden Fragility … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Blackouts Electric Grid, Distributed Generation, Electric Grid & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Grid instability, Photovoltaic Solar, Wind | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Interdependencies & supply chain failures in the News

Posted on July 11, 2021 by

Preface. Joseph Tainter, explains in his famous book “The collapse of complex societies” how complexity causes civilizations to collapse. Fossil fuels have created the most complex society that has ever, or will ever exist, using fossil energy that can’t be … Continue reading →

Posted in Interdependencies, Microchips and computers, Supply Chains | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments