Perpetual Innovation

Category: peak oil

  • Internet will be underwater sooner than you might think

    Found this on the Weather Channel, where it discusses a study that discusses the impacts on rising oceans on… The Internet.
    It makes sense. Population centers are, what, 80% within a few miles of oceans. All the phone and Inet cables would run along roads through population areas…
    Business Insider discusses so called Sunny Day Flooding from high tied and kind tide.
    As the sea levels rise there will be more flooding. Flooding will start to hit lots of underground cables (including Internet cables) that are water resistant, but not waterproof.

    With all the analysis of Global Warming, most of the scenarios assume that we take some action to avoid the worst cases. Also, there had been expectations for 20-30 years that we would start to run out (or at least low) on the fossil fuels, and thereby increase costs from shortages would result in “conservation” efforts. But Fracking and horizontal drilling has changed all that. Ten years ago, noone, not even the oil baron Boone Pickens, could expect that the world would reach 100m barrels of oil per day. It was not conceivable. But we have made it. Happily burning away, even with generally more fuel-efficient vehicles.

    But the Business as Usual (BAU) models that were considered the absolute worst case in climate models, seems to be where we find ourselves. The general thinking was that we probably had about another 50 years before big problems from global warming come home to roost. Well, this study figures otherwise. Within 10-15 years these problems, and the associated plethora of costs, should start showing up with a vengeance.

    The water issues will be massive and devastating. Salt water intrusion will become really expensive. Imagine entire cities moving from lots of fresh water and fresh water wells, to no fresh water. Desalinization is obviously possible, but requires lots of energy, plus massive amounts of plant and infrastructure.

    And, we have not even begun to talk about the devastating impacts of hurricanes when the sea levels are a couple more feet above “normal”.

    No pretty pictures on the waterfront here!

  • Power Struggle: How the Energy Market Could Shift in 2016 – Bloomberg Business

    Power Struggle: How the Energy Market Could Shift in 2016 – Bloomberg Business:

    Wow. Absolutely perfect assessment of the energy world, past and future.

    With pretty graphics to go along with the trends in energy.

    So what will be the energy source(s) of the future.

    The one thing for sure, is that it won’t be coal. As the rest of the world gets out of coal, so will the 2.3B people in China and India. They simply can’t afford the pollution and health costs that come free with cheap coal.

    The assessment seems puts energy into perspective, and indicates how a clear transition from one form to another (wood to coal, and coal to oil) might not be what we can expect to look forward to in the future.

    Don’t want to ruin the ending, you will have to watch all 3 minutes of the video to find out what to expect in the energy world.

    ‘via Blog this’

  • Phosphate World: New golf resort is out of the ordinary for Florida

    New golf resort is out of the ordinary for Florida:

    This is a great case of making lemon-aid from your excess lemons. This is a very interesting way to reclaim the past mine areas and fully benefit from the hills and water hazards.

    The open mining for phosphate in Florida has been an open eye sore to the tortured land in mid Florida. Huge dykes have been built up to block the view of the open pit mines. The water quality in the man-made lakes has generally been pretty poor.

    Florida is one of the largest Phosphate producers of the world. And the need for food to serve a hungry 7B+ population requires fertilizer, and lots of it.

    Phosphate (from mines) is a depletable resource, i.e., non-renewable. For decades the story was circulated that there were only about 25 years left of phosphate mining in Florida. See the Phosphate Primer for Florida. The actual number may be more like 300 years. But unrestrained development (sub-suburbs) are probably far more of a restriction than any environmental concerns.

    Peak Phosphorus production in the work may actually arrive by 2030, maybe sooner. It seems like about 160M metric tons might be about the limit. However, phosphorus from phosphate mines, does not disappear from existence, like the burning of oil, gas and coal. It goes into the farm land, into the plants, and run-off goes everywhere (streams, rivers, oceans). The run-off causes its own set of ecological problems (disasters).

    In 2013, the Army Corp of Engineers came up with a rather rosy study related to 4 new mines proposed. An article discussing the study in the Bradenton Herald is here. On of the quotes on an economic value were: “And there would be 6,340 more jobs because of the mines, and $29.1 billion in value added to the area’s economy.”


    Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/05/12/4522121/phosphate-mining-damages-environment.html#storylink=cpy”

    The general summary of the study was that the economic benefits far exceed the ecological impacts, which were many. The funding for the report actually came from the phosphate miners. A HeraldTribune article discusses the critics view, including this:

    “Although the Army Corps put its name on the report, it was developed by CH2M Hill, under a third-party contract funded by Mosaic and CF Industries — the same mining companies seeking permits from the Corps.“

    Here’s what the Sierra Club has to say about Phosphate Mining in Florida… Summary of lots of sources of info.

    Check out the role of Patents in the Phosphate world over at ipzine.blogspot.com.

    So, here’s food for though, as we contemplate food for a hungry world…

    Kinda makes you wonder, will we have a new theme park springing up in Florida: Phosphate World?

    ‘via Blog this’