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Tag Archives: renewable energy
The economy is moving from a tailwind pushing it along to a headwind holding it back
When the Crisis Stage occurs, there are fewer goods and service per capita to go around, so some members of the world economy must come out behind. Conflict of all kinds becomes more likely. Political leaders, if they happen to discover the predicament the world economy is in, have little interest in making the predicament known to voters, since doing so would likely lead them to lose the next election.
Instead, the way the physics-based self-organizing economic system works is that alternative narratives that frame the situation in a less frightening way gain popularity. Political leaders may not even be aware of how dependent today’s economy is on fossil fuels. Researchers may not be aware that their “scientific” models are misleading because they look at too small a portion of the overall system and make unwarranted assumptions. Continue reading
Scientific Models and Myths: What Is the Difference?
Most people seem to think, “The difference between models and myths is that models are scientific, and myths are the conjectures of primitive people who do not have access to scientific thinking and computers. With scientific models, we have moved … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged collapse, fossil fuels, religion, renewable energy, renewables, research grants
1,598 Comments
Rethinking Renewable Mandates
Powering the world’s economy with wind, water and solar, and perhaps a little wood sounds like a good idea until a person looks at the details. The economy can use small amounts of wind, water and solar, but adding these types … Continue reading
Posted in Energy policy
Tagged EROEI, EROI, fossil fuels, renewable energy, renewable subsidies
1,461 Comments
Why it (sort of) makes sense for the US to impose tariffs
Nearly everyone wonders, “Why is Donald Trump crazy enough to impose tariffs on imports from other countries? How could this possibly make sense?” As long as the world economy is growing rapidly, it makes sense for countries to cooperate with … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged energy prices, foreign policy, oil prices, renewable energy, wind energy
1,341 Comments
Electricity won’t save us from our oil problems
Almost everyone seems to believe that our energy problems are primarily oil-related. Electricity will save us. I recently gave a talk to a group of IEEE electricity researchers (primarily engineers) about the current energy situation and how welcoming it is for … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged electricity, globalization, oil prices, renewable energy, wind energy
2,042 Comments
