The Modern Epoch

Always nice to have a moment of sanity from Collapse of Industrial Civilization:

A time is coming when what we do to Earth is completely overshadowed by what Earth does to us.

The irrational ramblings of a demagogue won’t change a shifting earth laying waste to a once rich ecosphere and grinding to dust the landmarks of modern man. Delusions and protestations have no bearing on the laws of chemistry and thermodynamics.

Wind and Solar Won't Save Us

Gail Tverberg writes about the problems of transitioning to a "short list" of energy sources.

The possibility of making a transition to an all-renewables system seems virtually impossible, for the reasons I have outlined.

The topic doesn’t seem to go away, because it is appealing to have a “solution” to what seems to be a predicament with no solution.

Update (September 30):  Contrasting articles suggest 100 percent renewable energy is a fantasy and that 100 percent renewable electricity is possible by 2030.

Update (February 27, 2018):  Stan Cox criticizes plans for "100 percent renewable" energy that propose low per-capita levels of consumption for poorer nations.

Update (June 10, 2018):  Gregor Hagedorn considers whether short-term exponential growth in renewable energy can lead to sustainability.

Update (September 2, 2019):  Tim Radford points to promising research in Canada and Europe. Hydrogen gas can be extracted from bitumen and old oil fields by pumping in oxygen enriched air; and the wind potential in Europe could satisfy world demand for decades. But Radford is careful to point out:

Neither technology is likely to be exploited on a massive scale in the very near future.