Category Archives: Infrastructure

This site makes the case that collapse will take decades, not centuries. And the worst that ever has been or will be, it is fossil fuels that enabled 8.2 people to exist on the planet

The coming crash in 2020 from high diesel prices for cleaner emission of oceangoing ships

Posted on November 21, 2018 by

Preface.  Ships made globalization possible, and play an essential role in our high standard of living, carrying 90% of global goods traded. But the need for a new, cleaner fuel may cause the next economic crisis.  Currently ships can burn … Continue reading →

Posted in By People, Crash Coming Soon, Peak Oil, Ships and Barges | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Germany’s wind energy mess: As subsidies expire, thousands Of turbines to close

Posted on November 16, 2018 by

Preface. This means that the talk about renewables being so much cheaper than anything else isn’t necessarily true.  If wind were profitable, more turbines would be built to replace the old ones  without subsidies needed. Unless they can be dumped … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Energy Infrastructure, Wind | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Fresh water depletion, contamination, saltwater intrusion, & subsidence

Posted on November 7, 2018 by

Map of the U.S. showing cumulative groundwater depletion from 1900 through 2008 in 40 aquifers. Source: Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900-2008), USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5079. Preface.  This isn’t mentioned in the subsidence paper below, but half of USA … Continue reading →

Posted in Groundwater, Peak Water, Water Infrastructure, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fresh water depletion, contamination, saltwater intrusion, & subsidence

Peak Oil, Coal and Natural gas in China

Posted on July 31, 2018 by

Preface. Below are excerpts from 2 articles.  You may want to read Tverberg’s article here since I left out the charts and included just a few excerpts. Some key points: The world needs growing energy supply to support the world … Continue reading →

Posted in EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Peak Coal, Peak Natural Gas, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Peak Oil, Coal and Natural gas in China

Book review: the politics of California’s central valley levees

Posted on July 7, 2018 by

Preface. This is a book review of Robert Kelly’s “Battling the Inland Sea”.  But it is much more than that, better than any book I know if explaining the human nature of “conservatism vs liberalism”.  It drives me nuts that … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Book review: the politics of California’s central valley levees

Robert Rapier: Oil demand is growing, not shrinking. There is no peak oil demand in sight.

Posted on July 4, 2018 by

[ Yes, this article was published 10 months ago, but with all the attention to fake news today, I thought it would be worthwhile pointing out that peak demand is propaganda, not based on facts. Since the goal of fake … Continue reading →

Posted in Dependence on Oil, Electric Vehicles, Other Experts, Peak Oil, Transportation | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Korowicz: A study of global system collapse

Posted on July 1, 2018 by

Preface. I’ve extracted about half of Korowicz’s paper, left out the references, math, charts, and tables, so you might want to read the original document yourself. This is a great explanation – one of the best – of the intertwined … Continue reading →

Posted in Cascading Failure, Critical Thinking, David Korowicz, Interdependencies, Liebig's Law, Social Disorder, Society, Supply Chains | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

U.S. Industrial farming destroys future food production for centuries

Posted on June 13, 2018 by

Preface. Below are excerpts from a devastating critique of current farming practices by the National research council who show the myriad ways that industrial farming is harming the land and future food production.

Posted in Air, Biodiversity, Groundwater, Limits To Growth, Peak Food, Pesticides, Planetary Boundaries, Soil, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Threats to America’s drinking and sewage treatment infrastructure

Posted on January 14, 2018 by

[ Here are a few of the points made in this 170 page document about improving the nation’s water system security (excerpts follow): There are many potential threats to water infrastructure, including terrorism, failure of aging infrastructure, flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, … Continue reading →

Posted in CyberAttacks, Disease, Terrorism, Water Infrastructure, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Threats to America’s drinking and sewage treatment infrastructure

U.S. Senate 2014 Freight rail service: improving the performance of America’s rail system

Posted on December 14, 2017 by

Preface. This Senate hearing is mainly full of oil and grain industry leaders bashing the rail industry and asking Senators to do something about it. But the railroad industry is four times more energy efficient than trucks, and not guilty … Continue reading →

Posted in Railroads, U.S. Congress Transportation | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on U.S. Senate 2014 Freight rail service: improving the performance of America’s rail system