No Petroleum, No Problem? - Dr. Simon Michaux, Geological Survey of Finland # 259

The DemystifySci Podcast

Dr. Simon Michaux is a professor of geometallurgy at the Geological Survey of Finland. After having spent several years in private industry, he was laid off during one of the regular busts that inevitably accompany booms in the mining sector. In that period, Simon found a new appreciation for the material basis of civilization while taking temporary work as an organic farmer. When he returned to intellectual work as a professor, he brought this real-world understanding to geopolitical assessments, presenting his analyses to everyone from economists to UN delegations. Ultimately, what separates Simon from his peers is his ability to suggest a realistic solution set to the difficulty of planning a technologically accelerating future within the confines of a fundamentally finite material ecosystem. He lays out a set of alternative approaches to nuclear power, combustion power, and engines that will absolutely make you stop and reconsider the possibilities. His presentation begins with the idea that we may be running out of petroleum, but that doesn't mean we have to be running out of fuel. A subsequent podcast will explore Simon's ongoing work to demonstrate his principles in an idealized city-of-the future in the desert of Peru. More on his Prometheus Project to come, very soon. Sign up for our Patreon and get episodes early + join our weekly Patron Chat https://bit.ly/3lcAasB 00:00 Go! 00:07:41 How I got here and what's the problem 00:15:19 Why the green revolution will fail 00:24:27 Getting involved in government work 00:31:23 An endless war for oil 00:34:59 Are we past peak oil? 00:44:26 an explosion in volatility across the board 00:53:05 Is debt spiraling out of control? 01:02:56 What does joining BRICS look like? 01:09:38 An argument for moving away from oil that has nothing to do with supply or pollution 01:19:56 Productivity and post-oil economies 01:28:53 Resourcing the transition 01:37:41 What are the alternatives? 01:51:42 The Purple Transition 01:56:25 Thorium Molten Salt Reactor 02:14:06 Where does anti-nuclear come from? 02:21:14 Combustion of Iron Powder 02:32:50 Novel battery tech 02:35:46 Ammonia internal combustion engines 02:45:03 Closing thoughts #sciencepodcast #longformpodcast #Geometallurgy, #SimonMichaux, #GeologicalSurvey, #OrganicFarming, #MaterialBasis, #Civilization, #GeopoliticalAssessments, #SustainableEnergy, #TechnologicalFuture, #FiniteResources, #NuclearPower, #AlternativeEnergy, #Petroleum, #FuelAlternatives, #MiningIndustry, #EnergySolutions, #RenewableEnergy, #EcoInnovation, #PrometheusProject, #FutureCities, #Prometheusproject #venusproject Check our short-films channel, @DemystifySci: https://www.youtube.com/c/DemystifyingScience AND our material science investigations of atomics, @MaterialAtomics https://www.youtube.com/@MaterialAtomics Join our mailing list https://bit.ly/3v3kz2S PODCAST INFO: Anastasia completed her PhD studying bioelectricity at Columbia University. When not talking to brilliant people or making movies, she spends her time painting, reading, and guiding backcountry excursions. Shilo also did his PhD at Columbia studying the elastic properties of molecular water. When he's not in the film studio, he's exploring sound in music. They are both freelance professors at various universities. - Blog: http://DemystifySci.com/blog - RSS: https://anchor.fm/s/2be66934/podcast/rss - Donate: https://bit.ly/3wkPqaD - Swag: https://bit.ly/2PXdC2y SOCIAL: - Discord: https://discord.gg/MJzKT8CQub - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DemystifySci - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DemystifySci/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemystifySci MUSIC: -Shilo Delay: https://g.co/kgs/oty671