Tag Archives: coal

European Power plants are burning American forests

Preface. More than half of Europe’s “green” energy comes from burning wood, a lot of it imported from America.  Now Denmark would like to import methanol made from pinyon pines and junipers from hundreds of thousands of acres in the … Continue reading

Posted in CO2 and Methane, Deforestation, Wood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Permafrost & lack of gravel will limit arctic natural gas, oil, and coal extraction

Preface. For many people, it’s comforting to know that about 25% of remaining oil and gas reserves (we have the know-how and economics to get it) and resources (beyond our technical and/or monetary capability) are in the arctic. They assume … Continue reading

Posted in Arctic, EROEI remaining oil too low, How Much Left, Peak Natural Gas, Peak Oil, Reserves Lower than stated, Roads, Transportation Infrastructure | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Permafrost & lack of gravel will limit arctic natural gas, oil, and coal extraction

The pillaging of Native American coal, water, uranium and more

Preface. This is a book review of: “Unreal City: Las Vegas, Black Mesa, and the Fate of the West” by Judith Nies.  This book is about how stealing the resources of native Americans lands was made legal, despite enormous Native … Continue reading

Posted in An Index of Best Energyskeptic Posts, Biodiversity Loss, Coal, Energy Books, Energy Infrastructure, Global Warming, Infrastructure & Fast Crash, Mass migrations, Peak Resources, Pumped Hydro Storage (PHS), U.S. Congress Energy Policy, Water Pollution | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The pillaging of Native American coal, water, uranium and more

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

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 , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Biocoal from food waste and sewage

Preface. This probably doesn’t have a net energy gain because of the energy to move waste and sewage to a common facility, and then transport these wastes from numerous places to the factory where biomass is converted to coal using … Continue reading

Posted in Biomass, Coal | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Index of best energyskeptic posts

This is an attempt to boil down 1500+ energyskeptic posts into the 200 of the best ones. Alice Friedemann  www.energyskeptic.com Women in ecology  author of 2021 Life After Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Energy best price here; 2015 … Continue reading

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Half of U.S. Coal runs out in 30 years, not 250

Preface. The USGS did a survey of coal in the U.S. in 1974 and announced that America had 250 years of coal left.  In 2007, the National Research Council wrote a report suggesting 100 years was more likely due to … Continue reading

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Book review of Wrigley’s “Energy and the English Industrial revolution”

Preface. I’ve made a strong case in my book “When trucks stop running” and this energyskeptic website that we will eventually return to wood and a 14th century lifestyle after fossil fuels are depleted. So if you’re curious about what … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Energy Books, Farming & Ranching, Life Before Oil, Limits To Growth | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Vaclav Smil: from wood to coal to oil, energy transitions take a long time

Preface.  This post has a shortened, reworded, and heavily commented on article from Scientific American in 2014.  You can also see two much longer articles about energy transitions by Smil from n 2008 and 2010 here: A transition from fossil … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, Coal, Dependence on Oil, Energy Infrastructure, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book review of Vaclav Smil’s “Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects”

Preface.  In my extract of the 178 pages in the book below, Smil explains why renewables can’t possibly replace fossil fuels, and appears to be exasperated that people believe this can be done when he writes “Common expectations of energy … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, Energy Books, Vaclav Smil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments