Item of General Interest
Oct. 23 . A new interview by Chris Martenson is now up. He calls it Why There's No Economically Sustainable Price for Oil Anymore.
Author Archives: Gail Tverberg
Raising Interest Rates Can’t End Well!
The Federal Reserve would like to raise target interest rates because of inflation concerns and concern that asset bubbles are forming. Part of their concern seems to arise indirectly from the rise in oil prices, relative to their low level … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged energy affordability, Federal Reserve rate change, oil price
2,229 Comments
Oops! The economy is like a self-driving car
Back in 1776, Adam Smith talked about the “invisible hand” of the economy. Investopedia explains how the invisible hand works as, “In a free market economy, self-interested individuals operate through a system of mutual interdependence to promote the general benefit … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged dissipative structure, economic growth, oil price, open system
2,573 Comments
The “Wind and Solar Will Save Us” Delusion
The “Wind and Solar Will Save Us” story is based on a long list of misunderstandings and apples to oranges comparisons. Somehow, people seem to believe that our economy of 7.5 billion people can get along with a very short … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged electricity price, EROEI, Hydroelectric, photovoltaics, solar PV, wind power
2,531 Comments
2017: The Year When the World Economy Starts Coming Apart
Some people would argue that 2016 was the year that the world economy started to come apart, with the passage of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. Whether or not the “coming apart” process started in 2016, in my … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged economic collapse, low oil prices, oil prices, peak coal, peak oil, world GDP
1,607 Comments
EROEI Calculations for Solar PV Are Misleading
The Energy Returned on Energy Invested (EROEI) concept is very frequently used in energy studies. In fact, many readers seem to think, “Of course, EROEI is what we should be looking at when comparing different types of energy. What else … Continue reading
