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Recent Posts
- The insect apocalypse will kill billions more people than climate change
- The war on drugs. A book review of “Chasing the scream”
- Peak crude oil did not happen in 2018. But we are still running out of time
- Sheriffs have too much power
- Book review “They poisoned the world: Life & death in the age of Forever Chemicals”
- John Howe on one child per woman: still too high to stay under limits to growth curves
- Ted Trainer: The radical implications of a zero growth economy
- Part 5 Raven Rock. Hidey holes for government and military officials to carry on democracy after nuclear war destroys the planet
- Become a Bison rancher
- Part 4 Raven Rock. The government abandons plans to aid the public, only the government to survive
- Prisoners are treated worse than slaves in America
- Part 3 Raven Rock. The government’s plans for after a nuclear holocaust
- Part 2 Raven Rock. The U.S. government’s plans to save civilians from nuclear war
- Legal & Illegal Immigration numbers must drop to carrying capacity
- Part 1 Intro. Raven rock: the story of the U.S. governments secret plans to save itself after a nuclear war and let the rest of us die
Category Archives: Peak Food
Why it is hard to replace diesel with biodiesel
Biodiesel is the great hope, our main hope, the only renewable fuel of all the many options, and the closest to the diesel essential for rail, trucks, and ships to do the actual work of civilization. The U.S. produces over … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiesel, Food production, Oil, Peak Biofuels, Peak Food, Transportation, Water
Tagged biodiesel, diesel, EROI
1 Comment
Corn for ethanol & soy for biodiesel tremendously destructive
In the news: Cullen A (2024) Corn Belt fertilizer is killing the Gulf of Mexico. Washington Post. About 30 percent of the nitrogen applied for raising corn is lost to water, and much of it right now is draining off … Continue reading
Posted in Biodiesel, Peak Food, Pesticides, Soil, Water Pollution
Tagged aquifer depletion, biodiesel, corn, erosion, ethanol, pollution, soybeans, topsoil
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Limits to Growth: Natural gas fertilizer that feeds 4 billion of us
Preface. In chapter 4 of my book “Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy“, I explain how it came to be that fertilizer is made out of natural gas, using the energy of natural gas, and why … Continue reading
Posted in Life After Fossil Fuels, Limits To Growth, Natural Gas, Peak Food, Starvation
Tagged agriculture, food, peak food, peak natural gas, starvation
1 Comment
USGS Groundwater Depletion study of aquifer decline in the U.S.
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 aquifer, california, depletion, groundwater, Ogallala, USGS
1 Comment
The Nitrogen Bomb: fossil-fueled fertilizers keep billions of us alive
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 agriculture, fertilizer, nitrogen, overpopulation, peak food
4 Comments
Livestock threatened by toxic invasive species on rangeland
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 biodiversity loss, Bioinvasion, invasive species, plants
4 Comments
Phosphate: All hopes rest on Morocco with 75% of remaining reserves
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 agriculture, food, peak, peak phosphate, peak phosphorus, phosphorus, reserves
Comments Off on Phosphate: All hopes rest on Morocco with 75% of remaining reserves
Replacing diesel tractors with horses or oxen – what will that be like?
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 agriculture, horsepower, muscle power, oxen
1 Comment
Why and how Jellyfish are taking over the world
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 extinction, jellyfish, peak fish
4 Comments
Book review of Dirt: the erosion of civilization
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 agriculture, erosion, peak food, peak soil, soil
4 Comments