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.

Peak soil: Industrial agriculture destroys ecosystems and civilizations: Biofuels make it worse

Posted on August 31, 2017 by

Preface. In 2018 I thought it was time to reorganize this post, as it grew more and more bloated and disorganized with new information. Eventually it turned into my 2021 book Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Biofuels, Biomass, Energy, Peak Biofuels, Peak Topsoil, Soil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Transportation: How long can we adapt before we fall off the Net Energy Cliff?

Posted on August 27, 2017 by

Preface. There are too many factors besides geological depletion to predict a future timeline of collapse. Plus each region will be more or less affected by each factor, sooner or later as well. This is a unique crash – there … Continue reading →

Posted in Cascading Failure, Electric Grid & EMP Electromagnetic Pulse, Energy Infrastructure, Exponential Growth, Exports decline to ZERO, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Transportation, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Overfishing is driving large marine creatures extinct

Posted on August 23, 2017 by

[Overfishing is driving marine mammals extinct.  Luckily oil will soon begin a relentless decline and fishing boats won’t be able to travel to the ends of the world using spotter planes to net the remaining schools of fish.  And it … Continue reading →

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Pigeon towers to cope with peak phosphate and natural gas fertilizer?

Posted on August 20, 2017 by

[ Natural gas based fertilizers intensified crop production per acre up to 5-fold, yet natural gas, like phosphate, is finite.  We are going to be forced to reinvent our fossil-based agriculture, why not start with pigeon towers? Beats going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Farming & Ranching, Peak Phosphorus | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Summary of German Armed Forces Peak Oil Study

Posted on August 14, 2017 by

[This is a summary I first published in 2011.  It’s important, so I’ve re-posted it today.  According to Der Spiegel this study was leaked and not meant for publication.  The document concludes that the public must be made aware of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, GOVERNMENT, Government study predictions, Military, Over Oil, Peak Oil, Peak Resources, War, War Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Nitrogen fertilizer poses significant threats to humans and the environment

Posted on August 11, 2017 by

NRC. 2015. A Framework for Assessing Effects of the Food System. National Research Council, National Academies Press. 19 pages.   Nitrogen (N) is essential for agricultural productivity, but in its more reactive forms, it can pose significant threats to humans … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Fisheries, Groundwater, Planetary Boundaries, Pollution, Soil | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Nitrogen fertilizer poses significant threats to humans and the environment

Water resources infrastructure deteriorating

Posted on August 8, 2017 by

[ Water infrastructure has inter-dependencies with other essential infrastructure, if dams or levees fail, agriculture and electric power suffer, towns and homes flooded. If ports along the ocean and inland water ways aren’t maintained and waterways dredged, the by far … Continue reading →

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Nuclear Regulatory Commission accused of putting millions of lives and trillions of dollars at risk

Posted on August 2, 2017 by

[ Edwin Lyman and his co-authors in Science magazine have accused the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of putting millions of American lives at risk, due to “pressure from the nuclear utilities and a Congress sympathetic to the utilities’ complaints of … Continue reading →

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Theo Henckens: do we need mining quotas to prevent mineral depletion?

Posted on August 1, 2017 by

Preface: Ugo Bardi writes: “Currently, the problem of resource depletion is completely missing from the political debate. There has to be some reason why some problems tend to disappear from the public’s radar as they become worse. Unfortunately, the depletion … Continue reading →

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How reasonable are oil production scenarios from public agencies?

Posted on July 31, 2017 by

So far both the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and International Energy Agency (IEA) are on target in their predictions. In 2014 (the last year for which there is data), world production of crude oil and lease condensate was 77.833 … Continue reading →

Posted in How Much Left, Peak Oil | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on How reasonable are oil production scenarios from public agencies?