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 Rubber

Posted on August 12, 2022 by energyskeptic

Rubber trees can’t be grown anywhere. They require 100 inches (250 cm) of rain year round. Dry seasons not allowed. The average monthly temperature should be 77 to 82 Fahrenheit (25-28 C), with 6 hours a day of bright sunshine, … Continue reading →

Posted in ! PEAK EVERYTHING | Tagged peak, rubber, tires, war | 1 Comment

Understanding peak oil theory 2005 U.S. House

Posted on August 5, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. With world oil production likely having peaked in 2018 (as documented in chapter 2 of Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy), this seemed like a good time to go revisit peak oil history. What follows … Continue reading →

Posted in Peak Oil, Peak Oil History, U.S. Congress Energy Policy | Tagged Aleklett, Bartlett, energy dependence, history, oil production, peak oil, peak oil caucus, Udall | 5 Comments

Peak lithium makes transportation & electricity storage pointless

Posted on July 29, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. The lithium batteries in cars need electricity to recharge, but the electric grid can’t stay up with just wind and solar, that’s why natural gas is the energy storage today. Nor do pumped hydro or compressed air energy storage … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Battery - Utility Scale, Electrification, Peak Lithium, Recycle, Recycling | Tagged auto, electric vehicles, lithium battery cars, lithium production, lithium supply, peak lithium, recycling, truck | 1 Comment

World Peak Uranium Production

Posted on July 9, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. The World Nuclear Association estimates 90 years are left. Today 67,500 tonnes of uranium are consumed a year world-wide and production in 2020 was 47,731 tonnes (WNA 2021). Sounds a bit peakish, thank goodness for stockpiles and the infinite … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Battery - Utility Scale, CAES Compressed Air, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Gen IV SMR reactors, Natural Gas Energy Storage, Nuclear Power Energy, Nuclear spent fuel fire, Nuclear War, Nuclear Waste, Peak Uranium, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS) | Tagged CAES, natural gas, nuclear power, nuclear reactor, nuclear waste, peak uranium, phosphate, PHS | Comments Off

Why did everyone stop talking about Population & Immigration?

Posted on June 25, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. This post summarizes the 20 top reasons why population growth was abandoned the past 40 years. A deeper understanding can be found in the excellent Beck & Kolankiewicz (2000) “The Environmental Movement’s Retreat from Advocating U.S. Population Stabilization” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, Deforestation, Disease, Overpopulation, Pesticides, Pollution, Population, Transportation, Water Pollution, Wildfire | Tagged Borlaug, carrying capacity, green revolution, immigration, overpopulation, population, sierra club, tragedy of the commons | 14 Comments

David Fridley, LBNL scientist, on why alternative energy won’t save us

Posted on June 24, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. I’ve sought out David Fridley’s insights since I first met him in the Oakland Peak Oil group that formed in 2004. That group eventually dissolved, but David’s expertise is still sought out by many of us following energy decline. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, An Overview, EROEI Energy Returned on Energy Invested, Net Energy Cliff | Tagged alternative energy, David Fridley, EROI, renewables | Comments Off

2008 National Academy of Sciences meeting on America’s Energy Future

Posted on June 17, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. Hundreds of top scientists gathered in 2008 to discuss the future of energy in America at a time when oil prices were reaching record highs. And here we are again with record breaking prices and no reduction of our … Continue reading →

Posted in National Academies of Sciences, Oil Shocks | Tagged coal, energy crisis, energy dependence, energy shock, holdren, Moniz, nuclear power, oil | 1 Comment

Dozens of reasons why solar power can’t replace fossil fuels

Posted on June 6, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. Last update 2024-6-3. All solar (and wind) do is add to the giant bonfire of burning fossil fuels — which still provide two-thirds of the power for the electric grid. Electricity is just a fraction of how we use … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, CSP with thermal energy storage, Photovoltaic Solar, Recycle, Recycling, Solar, Solar EROI, Subsidies | Tagged china, EROI, fossil fuels, greenhouse gases, orbiting solar, PV, solar, subsidy, toxic chemicals | Comments Off

Is the USA energy independent?

Posted on May 21, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. Below are excerpts from U.S. House & Senate hearings where various speakers made the case that due to tight fracked gas & oil the United States had 100 or 200 or even 250 years of Energy Independence ahead. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Natural Gas, Oil & Gas Fracked, Peak Natural Gas, U.S. Congress Energy Independence | Tagged congress, energy independence, house, natural gas, oil, senate | Comments Off

Electric Swarm Tractors

Posted on April 21, 2022 by energyskeptic

Preface. In both my books Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy & When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation, I write that since most “renewables” generate electricity (i.e. wind, solar, nuclear, hydropower, compressed … Continue reading →

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Peak Food, Peak Rare Earth Elements, Trucks: Electric | Tagged agriculture, gridcon, John Deere, sesam, tractors | 1 Comment