Category Archives: Peak Food

Food production, population, and carrying capacity will also be reduced by peak soil, peak water, bioinvasion, pollution, climate change, loss of biodiversity, war, infrastructure decay and nearly every other category at energyskeptic

USGS Groundwater Depletion study of aquifer decline in the U.S.

Posted on January 7, 2022 by

Preface. I summarize two major research papers on the state of the Ogallal below.  It and many other aquifers are depleting rapidly, and polluted from pesticides, feedlot waste, intruding salts, and other pollution. Rainfall isn’t replenishing the Ogallala. Many won’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Government study predictions, Groundwater, Peak Food, Peak Water | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review “The Outlawed Ocean” by Ian Urbina

Posted on December 8, 2021 by

Note: Peak fish happened in 1996 at 130 million tonnes a year. Pauly D, Zeller D (2016) Catch reconstructions reveal that global marine fisheries catches are higher than reported and declining. Nature communications. Preface. This is a book review of … Continue reading →

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The Nitrogen Bomb: fossil-fueled fertilizers keep billions of us alive

Posted on August 30, 2021 by

Preface. There are two articles below that explain why natural gas fertilizers are keeping at least 4 billion of us alive today.  If you’re interested in this topic, here are a few more to read: Erisman JW, Sutton MA, Galloway … Continue reading →

Posted in Farming & Ranching, Life After Fossil Fuels, Natural Gas, Overpopulation, Peak Food | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Livestock threatened by toxic invasive species on rangeland

Posted on January 4, 2021 by

Preface.  Will cattle, sheep,goats, and horses have to be raised on feed lots in the future to prevent range land poisoning from invasive plants? Each year poisonous plants adversely affect 3-5% of the cattle, sheep, and horses that graze western … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, BioInvasion, Farming & Ranching, Peak Food | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Phosphate: All hopes rest on Morocco with 75% of remaining reserves

Posted on July 21, 2020 by

Preface. Phosphate is absolutely essential for both plants and animals.  It’s estimated that Morocco has of 75-85% of phosphate reserves that might last for 300-400 years.  Or peak in 25 years.  Walan (2014) has estimates of researchers who’ve predicted peak … Continue reading →

Posted in Farming & Ranching, Limits To Growth, Peak Food, Peak Phosphorus, Recycle | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Phosphate: All hopes rest on Morocco with 75% of remaining reserves

Vanishing open spaces: population growth and sprawl in America

Posted on May 27, 2019 by

  Preface.  Before the fossil fuel age began, about 80 to 90% of people farmed to make a living. Since the end of the oil age will send us back to the past, farmland and farmers will once again comprise … Continue reading →

Posted in Overpopulation, Peak Food, Soil | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Replacing diesel tractors with horses or oxen – what will that be like?

Posted on April 27, 2019 by

Preface. Since fossil fuels are finite, at some point increasing numbers of farmers with diesel vehicles and equipment will want to replace them with horses, which can do the work of six people.  Below is what  energy expert Vaclav Smil … Continue reading →

Posted in Farming & Ranching, Life Before Oil, Muscle Power, Peak Food, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Why and how Jellyfish are taking over the world

Posted on March 19, 2019 by

Preface.  The more climate change kicks in, the more we over-fish, pollute, acidify and warm the ocean, create vast dead zones, and trawl ocean bottoms, the better the jellyfish do. It is quite possible that the ocean ecosystem will shift … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Extinction Books, Fisheries, Jellyfish, Peak Food | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Book review of Dirt: the erosion of civilization

Posted on March 16, 2019 by

Preface. On average civilizations collapsed after 800 to 2,000 years because they’d destroyed their topsoil, some of it caused by deforestation to grow more food, make metals, ceramics, glass and other objects requiring high heat, which fossils provide today. Today, … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Peak Food, Soil | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Deep-sea trawling harms biodiversity and carbon storage

Posted on January 5, 2019 by

Preface. Overfishing has eliminated 90% of the world’s large predatory fishes and is devastating marine ecosystems. Bottom trawling is one of the most devastating ways our oceans are being overfished, degraded and biodiversity destroyed .  This industry tossed 437 million … Continue reading →

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