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.

An invasive green monster that can double in 2 days and impossible to control threatens 20 states

Posted on June 23, 2017 by

    [ The 2011 House of Representatives hearing below is a discussion of how to control salvinia. We spend about $135 billion on invasive species a year – what will happen when the fossil energy to remove them is … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, BioInvasion, Peak Food | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and other ways to bring down the electric grid

Posted on June 13, 2017 by

Preface.  At some point of energy decline the electric grid will fail, and civilization will take a giant step downward (financial systems gone, knowledge stored gone, computers / phones inoperable) and so on. Vaclav Smil (2015) in his book Energy … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Nuclear spent fuel fire | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Minerals: Coal from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Posted on June 11, 2017 by

Preface. This is just a small sampling of what Bardi thinks might happen post fossil fuels, mostly shortened and reworded. Here are 7 other posts from this great book: Mining: Waste, Pollution, Destruction Ugo Bardi predictions of the future Minerals … Continue reading →

Posted in Coal, Peak Coal, Ugo Bardi | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Minerals: Coal from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Mineral: Soil from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Posted on June 8, 2017 by

FIGURE 1. The state of soil health globally. Preface. Ugo Bardi’s book on minerals covers a wide-ranging territory, including soil, which is a mineral.  In this section of the book he shows how humans have damaged the soil so much … Continue reading →

Posted in Peak Food, Soil, Ugo Bardi | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Mineral: Soil from Ugo Bardi’s “Extracted”

Energy, Water, & Climate Change are interdependent

Posted on May 28, 2017 by

Preface. This is a very long post with summaries of two GAO reports on interdependencies of energy, water, and climate change from 2014 and 2012. While cheap and plentiful oil remains, these problems can be fixed, hiding the true depth … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Energy Infrastructure, Energy Production, GAO Government Accountability Office, Interdependencies | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Energy, Water, & Climate Change are interdependent

Climate change effects on conflict, social unrest, health, mass migration, food, and national security

Posted on May 14, 2017 by

[ Since oil shortages from exponential decline rates of conventional oil will affect every aspect of civilization from farming to electricity to supply chains far harder and sooner than sea-level rise and other climate change problems, think “energy shortage” whenever … Continue reading →

Posted in Caused by Scarce Resources, Climate Change, Planetary Boundaries | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Climate change effects on conflict, social unrest, health, mass migration, food, and national security

How to survive a nuclear winter

Posted on May 6, 2017 by

[ Clearly you’d want to move to Australia or New Zealand or stockpile 5 years of food.  Related posts: Nuclear winter: World-wide ozone loss from small nuclear war = 1 billion + deaths The EMP Commission estimates a nationwide blackout … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuclear War, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , | Comments Off on How to survive a nuclear winter

Plant more prairies to save topsoil and prevent pollution runoff

Posted on May 5, 2017 by

[ A program to plant more prairies to enrich the soil, keep topsoil from blowing and washing away, and provide a bio-diverse habitat for hundreds of species is receiving little funding or farmer participation, even though it would save farmers … Continue reading →

Posted in Farming & Ranching, Peak Topsoil | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Plant more prairies to save topsoil and prevent pollution runoff

The Peak Oil paradox revisited by Euan Mearns

Posted on April 26, 2017 by

Euan Mearns. July 16, 2016. The Peak Oil Paradox Revisited. theautomaticearth.com Euan Mearns: Back in the mid-noughties the peak oil meme gained significant traction in part due to The Oil Drum blog where I played a prominent role. Sharply rising … Continue reading →

Posted in How Much Left, Other Experts, Peak Oil | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Peak Oil paradox revisited by Euan Mearns

Limits to Growth? 2016 United Nations report provides best evidence yet

Posted on April 23, 2017 by

Preface. This is a summary of a United Nations report that ought to scare the pants off of anyone who understands exponential growth. Here are a few examples what that means: If 2 grams of gold grew at a 5% … Continue reading →

Posted in ! PEAK EVERYTHING, Distribution of Wealth, Exponential Growth, Limits To Growth, Organizations, Other Experts | Tagged , , | 5 Comments