Dark Age America: Climate
One of the most important factors that will shape the history of North America over the next five centuries and is particularly amenable to a systems analysis is climate.
EROEI
Meat vs Veg: An Energy Perspective
In this essay I’ll present data on the energy intensity of animal- and plant-derived foods and hopefully contribute to a constructive dialog about what we ought to eat and how we ought to be producing it.
Peak Oil and the socio-economic impact of depleting fossil fuel resources
Progressive Radio’s Gary Null talks peak oil, climate change, economy, culture, policy and much more with Kurt Cobb and Nate Hagens.
Fracking headlines
•Fracking is depleting water supplies in America’s driest areas, report shows •Why Shale Oil Boosters Are Charlatans In Disguise •Risks of Fracking Boom Draw Renewed Attention from Investors •Canadian awaits verdict on fracking nightmareF•ocus on well efficiency keeps Marcellus Shale pumping despite low prices •Cuadrilla fracking delays over radioactive waste water •Voluntary Fracking Certification Kicks Off in U.S. •Tight Trouble
The Grand Challenge of the Energy Transition
How are we going to meet the challenge of functioning without fossil fuels?
PV or not PV
This weeks our guest is Dr Marco Raugei. We discuss his work on renewable energy, in particular his work on the current state of Photovoltaic or PV systems.
The Energy Sustainability Dilemma : Powering the Future in a Finite World
Most of the easy energy is gone. Are we heading for a dead end?
The flap about space travel
(Spoiler alert!) Why is the movie Gravity so scary to some people…?
This is What Peak Oil Looks Like
Even if forecasting the exact date of the peak is a fool’s errand, only a fool would miss the signs that the world oil industry has entered a new, desperate era. Discoveries are down, costs are up. Production has flatlined, environmental impacts from petroleum operations are soaring.
If we have to use fossil fuels to manufacture renewable plants, doesn’t it mean that renewables are useless?
In this post, Marco Raugei makes a fundamental point about an often raised question: if we have to use fossil fuels to manufacture renewable plants, doesn’t it mean that renewables are useless?
The Energy Return on Energy Invested of US Food Production
In this article I apply the idea of energy return on energy invested to food production in the United States, and discuss the relevance of energy efficiency to the local food movement.
Emergy as a Metric of Sustainability
Under what conditions will a technology be able to survive the energy contraction associated with the depletion of fossil fuels?