Tag Archives: china

Book review of “Surveillance State”

Posted on August 23, 2024 by

Preface.  My next book is going to be about why the electric grid can’t stay up for many reasons, including energy storage not scaling up, heavy-duty transportation is still dependent on diesel despite a few $400-$500,000 electric trucks subsidized in … Continue reading →

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Book review of “Chip War” and the Fragility of microchips

Posted on March 8, 2024 by

Major semiconductor producing countries rely on each other for different types of chips. Top semiconductor producers’ 2021 export values by source and destination, billions USD.  Source: PIIE 2022 https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/major-semiconductor-producing-countries-rely-each-other-different-types-chips Preface.  We have become insanely dependent on technology that can’t possibly … Continue reading →

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Why tight fracked oil and gas is mostly extracted in the US

Posted on September 6, 2023 by

Source: Smithsonian. May 2013 map of shale oil and gas formation. fource U.S. EIA & USGS. Preface.  Unconventional US (and some Canadian) fracked tight oil was over 90% of how oil production increased after conventional oil peaked in 2008, but … Continue reading →

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

Posted on June 6, 2022 by

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 →

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Autos need finite rare earth, critical, & precious metals

Posted on February 3, 2021 by

An electric car uses five times as many minerals as a conventional car (IEA 2020): IEA, Minerals used in selected power generation technologies, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/minerals-used-in-selected-power-generation-technologies There are 17 rare earth elements (REE) that China controls up to 97% of … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Peak Rare Earth Elements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Will the Great Game be won by Cyber Attacks?

Posted on January 25, 2021 by

Preface.  This is a book review of Joel Brenner’s “America the Vulnerable: Inside the New Threat Matrix of Digital Espionage, Crime, and Warfare”. The ransom cyber attack on the colonial pipeline forced the shutdown of a vital pipeline delivering half … Continue reading →

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Toxic Loans Around the World Weigh on Global Growth

Posted on March 11, 2020 by

Preface.  Obviously endless growth on a finite planet is impossible.  Clearly the main “benefit” of debt is being able to rape and pillage the planet immediately.  The accumulating debt can never be paid off, because energy is required to grow … Continue reading →

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China is deforesting Russia

Posted on August 7, 2019 by

Preface. Here’s more than half of a New York Times article about China deforesting Russia. Yikes! Peak oil had better come soon before we denude the earth. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future … Continue reading →

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Hydropower dams and the ways they destroy the environment

Posted on April 15, 2019 by

Preface. Hydropower comprises 71% of renewable energy worldwide.  Nations like the U.S. and Europe have dams that have reached the end of their lifespan — more are being torn down than built. In the U.S. 546 dams were removed between … Continue reading →

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Crash alert: China’s resource crisis could be the trigger

Posted on November 25, 2018 by

Preface.  Way to go Nafeez Ahmed, your second home run of reality based reporting on the energy crisis this week.  There are countless economists within the mainstream media predicting an economic crisis worse than in 2008, but they totally ignore … Continue reading →

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