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.

Why the U.S. is ignoring nuclear winter in nuclear policies & strategies

Posted on April 19, 2024 by

Preface. It is very hard to find anything on the U.S. military or governments awareness of nuclear winter. So far the only other information I’ve found on this is from 2023 Risk Analysis methods for nuclear war & nuclear terrorism. … Continue reading →

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Oil choke points vulnerable to war, chaos, terrorism, accidents, & piracy

Posted on April 12, 2024 by

Source: Ballout, D. 2013. Choke Points: Our energy access points. Oil Change. Preface. Below are several articles I’ve collected since 2005 on oil chokepoints. If oil tanker traffic were stopped on one or more, much of the world would plunge … Continue reading →

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Nuclear weapons must be reduced or we risk nuclear winter

Posted on April 5, 2024 by

Geoscientists Can Help Reduce the Threat of Nuclear Weapons Preface.  The United States has embarked on a wide-ranging nuclear modernization program that will ultimately see every nuclear delivery system replaced with newer versions over the coming decades. The total cost … Continue reading →

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Fusion is already running out of fuel

Posted on March 29, 2024 by

Source: Khan A (2021) Nuclear fusion: building a star on Earth is hard, which is why we need better materials. The Conversation. Preface.  Of all the hundreds of obstacles fusion has yet to overcome, its death knell could be as … Continue reading →

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Peak Oil is Officially Here! World oil production peaked November of 2018

Posted on March 24, 2024 by

Preface. When I first published this post in February of 2022, I said that peak world oil production might have arrived, but it takes 5 years in the rear-view mirror to call it.  Now peak “crude oil including lease condensate … Continue reading →

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Rare Earth updates: recent research on why complex & intelligent life are rare in the Universe

Posted on March 15, 2024 by

Preface. These are updates to Ward & Brownlee’s book “Rare Earth: Why Complex life is Uncommon in the Universe”. If we are one of the few planets with intelligent life, what a shame it would be if we destroyed ourselves … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution, Human Nature, Planetary Boundaries, Wood | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book review of “Chip War” and the Fragility of microchips

Posted on March 8, 2024 by

Major semiconductor producing countries rely on each other for different types of chips. Top semiconductor producers’ 2021 export values by source and destination, billions USD.  Source: PIIE 2022 https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/major-semiconductor-producing-countries-rely-each-other-different-types-chips Preface.  We have become insanely dependent on technology that can’t possibly … Continue reading →

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The tremendous material and energy toll of the digital economy

Posted on March 1, 2024 by

One minute on the internet around the world. Source Infographic by @LoriLewas and @officiallyChad, 2020. Preface.  This is a book review of Pitron’s “The Dark Cloud”. Of note is the huge amount of electricity and rare earth and other critical … Continue reading →

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Nuclear attack on U.S. could kill 90% of Americans

Posted on February 22, 2024 by

A map showing modelling by Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security showing the worst-case scenario effects of a strike on America’s nuclear missile silos. Researchers found as many as 300 million people would be at risk of a … Continue reading →

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What percent of Americans are rational?

Posted on February 15, 2024 by

Preface. Why does rationality matter — what’s the harm in believing there’s a fat “Santa Claus” God in the sky noting down every time any intelligent creature in the entire universe is naughty or nice on the trillions of inhabited … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Critical Thinking and Scientific Literacy, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments