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

Peak Aquifers: Very little Ground water is renewable, perhaps only 1.5%

Gleeson, Tom, et al. November 2015. The global volume and distribution of modern groundwater. Nature Geoscience. The water in aquifers and wells billions of people depend upon is mostly a non-renewable resource that could run out. Underground water is renewed … Continue reading →

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Geopolitics of Oil. United States Senate Hearing 110-6

Senate 110-6. January 10, 2007. Geopolitics of Oil. United States Senate Hearing. 90 pages. Excerpts: Senator Jeff Bingaman (New Mexico). The idea of this hearing is to try to look at the big picture, to begin the year with an … Continue reading →

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Congressional hearings on why the Inland water way system is falling apart

[There are extracts from 2 hearings below.  Alice Friedemann. www.energyskeptic.com] U.S. SENATE. Jan 31, 2013. Harbor maintenance trust fund & the need to invest in the nation’s ports. S. HRG. 113-578. Hearing before the Committee on Environment & public works. … Continue reading →

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Reduce vehicle fuel consumption to increase energy security

[This is a really interesting House session that discusses U.S. energy policy, the need for consumers to be educated about why they should buy more fuel efficient cars, and push-back from the auto industry (see the full 140 pages for … Continue reading →

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David L. Greene, ORNL: Raise cafe standards and gas tax

Excerpt from: U.S. House. February 9, 2005. Improving the nation’s energy security: can cars and trucks be made more fuel efficient? Committee on science, House of Representatives, Serial No. 109-3. 140 pages. DAVID L. GREENE, OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY, CENTER … Continue reading →

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CAFE standards: 54.5 mpg cars exist, but public prefers gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks

[Passenger vehicles sold in 2025 in the United States are supposed to get 54.5 miles per gallon on average.  But they won’t.  It will be closer to 35.4 miles per gallon, as the Union of Concerned Scientists explains in Translating … Continue reading →

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Just 16,000 catenary trucks (out of 5.6 million) would use 1% of California’s electricity generation

Preface. We must electrify trucks since fuel from oil, coal, and natural gas is finite, and biomass doesn’t scale up.  Without transportation, electricity contraptions like wind turbines, solar facilities, and nuclear power plants can’t be built. A wind turbine, for … Continue reading →

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Congressional hearings on Rail

June 10, 2008. S. HRG. 110–1165 Keeping America Moving: A review of national strategies for efficient freight movement. 74 pages. Hearing before the subcommittee on SURFACE TRANSPORTATION & MERCHANT MARINE INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, & SECURITY of the committee on COMMERCE, SCIENCE, … Continue reading →

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The electric grid, critical interdependencies, vulnerabilities: U.S. House hearing 2003

Preface.  Of course, this website explains why the grid can’t stay up without fossil fuels, so by 2050 the grid will only be up in a few places, perhaps China, the Middle East, and Russia if war hasn’t brought on … Continue reading →

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Barges are more energy efficient than rail and truck

  [After reading two congressional hearings, one in 2008, and another in 2013, about how the inland waterway system was falling apart, and had been for 30 years, I was curious to know why such an important asset would be … Continue reading →

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