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.

Human sprawl and wildlife destruction: a book review of “Nature Wars”

Posted on February 13, 2023 by

Preface.  This is a book review of Sterba’s “Nature Wars” and our interaction with wildlife as our insanely huge population growth wipes out nature.

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Can we grow enough food postcarbon? Irrigation needs water & electricity

Posted on February 6, 2023 by

Preface. Irrigated agriculture over 58 million acres consumes the largest share of U.S. water. And it’s shrinking as aquifers are drained, reservoirs evaporate, and drought reduces snowpack and rainfall at the same time population and the economy are growing. My … Continue reading →

Posted in Interdependencies, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Will women be accused of witchcraft after energy descent?

Posted on January 16, 2023 by

Preface. This is a book review of “In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial.”  The author Chollet writes that the book won’t spend much time on witchcraft today, but explore … Continue reading →

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The staggering level of corruption & kleptocracy in the world

Posted on January 9, 2023 by

Preface.  This is a book review of Frank Vogl’s 2021 book “The Enablers: How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption – Endangering Our Democracy” (well, mostly kindle notes).  They couldn’t get away with it if there weren’t so many places … Continue reading →

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China is destroying itself

Posted on December 26, 2022 by

Preface. China has been destroying itself for many decades now.  In Mao’s “great leap forward” about 35 to 50 million are estimated to have died from starvation from 1958 on, as you’ll read in my book review of” Shapiro J … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Hazardous Waste, Mining, Soil | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Dennis Meadows of Limits to Growth: Collapse inevitable

Posted on December 9, 2022 by

Preface. Dennis Meadows is a co-author of The Limits to Growth.  In 1972, the team of 66 scientists he assembled for the original Limits to Growth study concluded the most probable result will be a rather sudden and uncontrollable decline … Continue reading →

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Peak oil, food & the “King of Chemicals” sulfuric acid

Posted on December 2, 2022 by

Preface. I first learned of sulfur’s existence when my grandmother told me how she loved going to tent revivals on the edge of town where it was common for preachers to get converts by burning sulfur to make the fire … Continue reading →

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Most plastic isn’t recycled, burns in fires at recycling centers

Posted on November 18, 2022 by

Preface.  Plastics are just one of 500,000 products made out of oil and gas, but very important to just about every aspect of society, from making vehicles lighter so go further using less energy, to clothes, food storage, bags, toothbrushes, … Continue reading →

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The nine boundaries we must not cross or we may go extinct

Posted on November 4, 2022 by

Preface. This post has excerpts from the famous paper by Rockström et al (2009) as well as a more recent proposal by Running (2012) on an easier measure of how close we’re coming to rendering the planet uninhabitable. The media … Continue reading →

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Hydrogen hopium: Storage

Posted on October 21, 2022 by

Source: Russel Rhodes (2011) Explosive Lessons in Hydrogen Safety. https://appel.nasa.gov/2011/02/02/explosive-lessons-in-hydrogen-safety/ Preface.  What is hopium? Irrational or unwarranted optimism. An addiction to false hopes. A metaphorical substance that causes people to believe in a false hope (H + opium). And Hopium … Continue reading →

Posted in CAES Compressed Air, Drought & Collapse, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Hopium, Hydrogen, Trucks | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Hydrogen hopium: Storage