Category Archives: ! PEAK EVERYTHING

Food, topsoil, aquifers, phosphorus, rare metals essential to microchip fabrication, windmills, solar, and other products; sand; oil; natural gas

Science magazine on Peak Sand 2017 and 2018

Posted on January 18, 2019 by

[ Sand is essential to make concrete, glass, silicon for computer chips, and many other products (longer list in Peak Sand), so no wonder top journal “Science” has had two articles on this topic. Sand mining also ruins ecosystems, lessens … Continue reading →

Posted in Peak Sand, Tsunami | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Lakes run dry from too much water extraction and climate change

Posted on January 8, 2019 by

Preface.   I think that declining oil will be the main cause of civilization to collapse, since it is the energy that makes all other activities possible, but there are so many other contenders I wonder if scholars in the future … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Drought & Collapse, Overpopulation, Peak Water, Water Infrastructure | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Lakes run dry from too much water extraction and climate change

Fresh water depletion, contamination, saltwater intrusion, & subsidence

Posted on November 7, 2018 by

Map of the U.S. showing cumulative groundwater depletion from 1900 through 2008 in 40 aquifers. Source: Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900-2008), USGS Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5079. Preface.  This isn’t mentioned in the subsidence paper below, but half of USA … Continue reading →

Posted in Groundwater, Peak Water, Water Infrastructure, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fresh water depletion, contamination, saltwater intrusion, & subsidence

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

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

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

Sand mines used to frack oil & gas are destroying the best topsoil in the Midwest

Posted on January 19, 2017 by

Preface. Frac sand is a high-purity quartz sand that is injected into wells to blast and hold open cracks in the shale rock layer during the fracking process. In the United States, frac sand is being mined intensively from sandstone … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil & Gas Fracked, Peak Sand, Soil | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Peak Uranium by Ugo Bardi from Extracted: How the Quest for Mineral Wealth Is Plundering the Planet

Posted on January 11, 2017 by

Preface. This is an extract of Ugo Bardi’s must read “Extracted” about the limits of production of uranium. You can find plenty of material saying there is are a lot of uranium reserves and resources  left elsewhere (EMD 2019). The … Continue reading →

Posted in Peak Uranium, Ugo Bardi | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Water as a geopolitical threat. U.S. House of Representatives

Posted on November 20, 2016 by

Preface. Water scarcity is causing unrest and could led to war in Asia and the Middle East. There’s a website that keeps track of conflicts over water going back for 3,000 years here — 655 of them.   The prevalence of … Continue reading →

Posted in Caused by Scarce Resources, Congressional Record U.S., Peak Water, Water | Comments Off on Water as a geopolitical threat. U.S. House of Representatives

Why the world is headed the way of Easter island

Posted on September 13, 2016 by

Petros Sekeris. 19 November 2014. Violence ahead as tragedies of the commons spread. NewScientist. The world risks heading the way of Easter Island – a spiral into conflict as depleted natural resources are plundered. There is a growing feeling that … Continue reading →

Posted in ! PEAK EVERYTHING | Tagged , | 6 Comments