Is there a rise from the dead? — Despite claims to the contrary, we still live in an age of empires. The only difference this time is that the one dominating this planet is in full denial of this fact. No empire can avoid its fate however, and this one is of no exception either. In my previous…

The slow passing of a global hegemon, the Empire of all empires, made me ponder how it will pass to the pages of history books. Apparently, its ruling elite has chosen a strategy called spite: knowingly (or unknowingly) hurting their own self interest, hoping that their enemies will be hurt…

The sun is shining, birds are singing and natural gas demand destruction goes on unabated in the EU. One might ask here: why have TTF gas prices fallen below 70 Eur/MWh (1) actually to even lower levels than in Asia? Mainstream media tries to spin the story that this is…

Once a source of hope for maintaining our modern lifestyle, renewables are close to hit diminishing returns (i.e.: providing less and less benefit to society with every addition of a new solar panel or wind turbine). For the record: fossil fuels have long passed the same point, where drilling another…

After contemplating the unique, yet predictable nature of our civilization, let’s see what we can expect in 2023 (be sure to read the previous post to get the big picture). While it is relatively easy to predict the long demise of human civilization based on the fact that it’s wholly…

Another year has passed (almost), yet the world didn’t collapse. We have got close to nuclear annihilation — probably closer than we’ve ever had — yet we are still here. The long decline of our High-Tech civilization in general, and the Western empire in particular works on different timescales than…

How hydrogen fusion will save us (or not) — A recent breakthrough in an experimental fusion reactor has created a shock-wave of news rippling through mainstream media. Writers from all stripes waxed lyrical how this is a major step forward, and how it brings us closer to a ‘clean, safe, almost limitless’ energy source. Reality though is slightly more…

A story of economic suicide in the face of resource depletion — In the past two installments (here & here) we have seen how the geology driven decline in coal production in Germany has led to an increase in natural gas consumption and black coal imports. Now, that Russian coal (50% of German imports) has been…

A story of economic suicide in the face of resource depletion — Europe in general, and Germany in particular face very tough years. Their economies are under a self-imposed siege with no end in sight, shooting energy prices through the roof and sending industries abroad in search for cheap fossil fuels. In Part 1 we have discussed the case of coal, seen…