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Tag Archives: diminishing returns
Where Energy Modeling Goes Wrong
There are a huge number of people doing energy modeling. In my opinion, nearly all of them are going astray in their modeling because they don’t understand how the economy really operates. The modeling that comes closest to being correct … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged complexity, diminishing returns, EROEI, oil price, peak oil
3,331 Comments
2020: The Year Things Started Going Badly Wrong
Some might describe the energy story as a “diminishing returns” story, but it’s really broader than this. It’s a story of services that we expect to continue, but which cannot continue without much more energy investment. It is also a story of the loss of “economies of scale” that at one time helped propel the economy forward. Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged collapse, Covid-19, diminishing returns, economic growth, peak oil
2,805 Comments
The World’s Fragile Economic Condition – Part 2
The world economy can appear to be operating quite well but can be hiding a major problem that causes it to be fragile. My presentation The World’s Fragile Economic Condition (PDF) explains why we should expect financial problems if energy consumption … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged diminishing returns, energy limits, interest rates, oil prices
2,110 Comments
Raising Interest Rates Is Like Starting a Fission Chain Reaction
Central bankers seem to think that adjusting interest rates is a nice little tool that they can easily handle. The problem is that higher interest rates affect the economy in many ways simultaneously. The lessons that seem to have been … Continue reading
Posted in Financial Implications
Tagged diminishing returns, energy prices, inflation rate, oil prices
2,489 Comments
What really causes falling productivity growth — an energy-based explanation
What really causes falling productivity growth? The answer seems to be very much energy-related. Human labor by itself does not cause productivity growth. It is human labor, leveraged by various tools, that leads to productivity growth. These tools are made … Continue reading
