Consumption & Demand

Plastics Keep Coming after You: a Comprehensive Report and a Call to Action

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“Coming after You” means both your legacy of non-biodegradable plastics and that they are out to kill you. Now that the hilarious double entendre is out of the way, we can go on to our patient heroines. The nurturing, brave journalists about to be presented are patient as heroines and they succor untold numbers of unknown patients suffering from plastic-caused diseases.

Which Train Is Leaving The Station?

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My busy eating, drinking & breathing schedule prevented me from going down to Houston for CERAWeek this year. It’s funny how that works—something seems to come up every year. So I’ll have to use news reports to get a feel for how this year’s exciting oil & gas Schmooze-Fest went. Tuesday, March 9th was Oil Day.

What is the Minimum EROI that a Sustainable Society Must Have? Part 1: Surplus Energy and Biological Evolution

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EROI theory is rooted in the biological principle that in order to survive each species on earth must procure more energy from its food than it expends attaining that food. From this basic principle the importance of energy surplus became evident, as food sources needed to “pay” not only for metabolism but also for reproduction and storage for leaner times. Part 1 of this three part series presents a brief history of the concept of surplus energy and how it has influenced both biological and human evolution.

China o los Estados Unidos: ¿Cuál será la nación que mantenga liderazgo?

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Qué tonto. Yo habia pensado que los líderes del mundo querrian evitar la caída de sus naciones. Seguro que trabajan duro para evitar la caída del sistema de finanza, del sistema alimenticio, del sistema social, ambiental, y el principio de una miseria abrumadora, verdad? Pero no, eso no es lo que demuestra la evidencia. Me inclino a pensar que el objetivo de los líderes mundiales, no es de salvar a sus naciones de la caída, sino, sencillamente ser el último en caer para poder devorar a los que cayeron antes.

Are “More Jobs” Sustainable or Necessary in the Post-Peak Oil World?

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What was required for a growing economy, that was supposed to uplift all of modern humanity, is at root a false notion for the manipulated public: the overwhelming majority must work for others to enrich the few so that all of society benefits through unlimited expansion. This problematic profit-scheme is failing to hold up, what with general economic uncertainty on the rise (apart from “Hope”) and the advanced depletion of easily extracted, cheap oil.

World crude oil production may peak a decade earlier than some predict

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In a finding that may speed efforts to conserve oil and intensify the search for alternative fuel sources, scientists in Kuwait predict that world conventional crude oil production will peak in 2014 — almost a decade earlier than some other predictions. Their study is in ACS’ Energy & Fuels, a bi-monthly journal.

Urban resilience for dummies: Part 2

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Last post I covered some guiding principles for urban resilience planning in the face of climate change and diminishing resources (especially fresh water and oil). Considering these guidelines, what aspect of U.S. metro development stands out as the most ill-advised and risky? Short answer: exurban sprawl.

Improving the Performance of Solar Thermal Electrical Power

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Solar thermal is a way of harnessing the largest source of energy available to us, so in this post I’ll have a look at the upswing in interest in the use of this technology for electricity generation in recent years and look at some of the approaches being pursued to make it economically competitive with coal fired power generation.