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

Moving oil by ship or barge to refineries

Posted on October 2, 2014 by

Frittelli, J., et al. May 5, 2014. U.S. Rail Transportation of Crude Oil: Background and Issues for Congress. Congressional Research Service. Barge One river barge can hold 10,000 to 30,000 barrels of oil. Two to three river barges are typically … Continue reading →

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Out of time: 50 years to make a transition, 210 years at the current rate

Posted on September 30, 2014 by

If transportation is to be electrified, then electric generation and the electric grid must be doubled, or even tripled. So by Cobb’s calculation, that would push back the transition time to renewables 420 to 630 years.  Alice Friedemann. By Kurt … Continue reading →

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Why You Should Love Trucks

Posted on September 27, 2014 by

source: bitsandpieces1.blogspot.com Preface. Before the age of fossil fuels, getting food, water, and shelter was simple. Nine out of ten people were self-sufficient farmers. But now there are global 24/7 just-in-time supply chains that depend on trucks and other modes … Continue reading →

Posted in Trucks | 4 Comments

Two-thirds of coal to power sector delivered by railroads

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

June 11, 2014  U.S. Energy Information Administration www.eia.gov Railroad deliveries continue to provide the majority of coal shipments to the power sector Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-923, Power Plant Operations Report Note: Sum of components may not equal … Continue reading →

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Fuel economy improvements show diminishing returns in fuel savings

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

This means it’s unlikely we’ll turn over the vehicle fleet fast enough to make a difference in fuel consumption.  Which wouldn’t have happened anyhow due to Jevon’s paradox. July 11, 2014 Fuel economy improvements show diminishing returns in fuel savings … Continue reading →

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Increasing population + declining fossil fuels = less population

Posted on July 1, 2014 by

[ This essay looks at the human footprint on the planet, how it grew so large, the problems it causes, and the consequences. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation”, 2015, Springer … Continue reading →

Posted in Peak Food, Population | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System. National Academy of Sciences.

Posted on July 1, 2014 by

Much of what follows is from the National Academy of Science 2012  (for the Department of Homeland Security): “Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System” & 2013 “The Resilience of the Electric Power Delivery System in Response to Terrorism and … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse | 1 Comment

Biggest Waste of Wealth in All of history: America’s Interstate Highway system

Posted on June 9, 2014 by

A book review by Alice Friedemann of: Swift, Earl. 2012. The Big Roads: The Untold Story of the Engineers, Visionaries, and Trailblazers Who Created the American Superhighways. Related articles $46 Trillion Infrastructure in USA, $6 Trillion is Transportation Expressways & … Continue reading →

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Expressways & Interstates are only designed to last for 20 years

Posted on May 28, 2014 by

Preface. I make the case that civilization would end in a week if trucks stopped running in my first book, and though I had in mind that they would be running low on diesel fuel on the downside of world … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Roads, Trucks | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Michael Dittmar, Institute of Particle Physics: Peak Uranium 2015

Posted on May 22, 2014 by

The End of Cheap Uranium June 17, 2011. Michael Dittmar, Institute of Particle Physics,   Zurich, Switzerland Journal: Science of the Total Environment This paper concludes that “the end of the cheap uranium supply will result in a chaotic phase-out … Continue reading →

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