The Oil Drum | John Tierney's brilliant energy plan

175 comments on John Tierney's brilliant energy plan

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Leanan on February 7, 2006 - 2:06pm

I've heard that argument carried even farther (often by religious conservatives). If the "real" natural resource is human ingenuity, then obviously, the more people you have, the better. Therefore, we should discourage, perhaps even outlaw, birth control so as to increase our "resources" as much as possible.

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LevinK on February 7, 2006 - 3:05pm

There is also that Murphy's law that states that the Earth total human intellect is a constant value. While the population keeps growing and growing...

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elroy on February 9, 2006 - 8:21am

Damn, everything and anything gets called 'Murphy's law' these days huh ?

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step back on February 9, 2006 - 10:33am

That only proves Murphy right.
"Whatever" can go wrong, eventually will, even Murphy's Law.

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Engineer-Poet on February 8, 2006 - 8:39am

I can't help but notice that the Nobel prizes in the sciences go overwhelmingly to people who practice the opposite of what those religious conservatives preach. A nation with huge masses of poor, uneducated peasants and the social regimentation to keep the peace is ill-suited to the exercise of ingenuity.

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jimvj on February 8, 2006 - 1:32pm

There is another sense in which the John Tierney/Betsy Hart pieces are "religious". The Julian Simon cornucopians have faith in their precept that the human mind is above (i.e., not beholden to) physical constraints.

Just as most fervent religious believers would, when circumstances threaten their faith, they have to proclaim their faith ever more loudly.

Much of the economic & ecological history of the 20th century - especially the latter half - can be explained by fact that the world was on the steeply rising part of the global Hubbert curves for fossil fuels. Just as the tectonic theory explained many seemingly disparate phenomena, the Hubbert curve explains the Simon v. Ehrlich wager, the green revolution, population growth, etc.

Of course, human ingenuity is what enabled the growth of fossil fuels; but it remains to be seen whether and how this faith will persist on the Hubbert downslope. But the faithful have to believe & shout out that they believe it will triumph.

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step back on February 8, 2006 - 2:59pm

REQUEST to Prof GOOSE or SS or Yankee:

Now that we have worked up our froth over the John Tierney/Betsy Hart pieces and the other Julian Simon cornucopians, can we open a new thread for Tom Tom Friedman and his desire to be "energy independent"?

(I've always thought only the dead were "energy independent". But obviously Tom Tom has better ideas in his Moby Dick Cheney blow out editorial today in the --where else?-- New York Times --all the news that's fit for delay.)

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Oil CEO on February 13, 2006 - 2:51am

Stop it. There are some people you can't afford to lose. Friedman's posture and intentions are correct. If his method is unpalatable, that can be worked on. This guy is the most widely respected (current)NYT columnist who gets major exposure.

Maureen and Paul wish they could be this guy. Tierney can barely write. Bill Safire should think about coming out of retirement.

Friedman supports a dollar tax on gasoline and has written on the subject. He has pull, maybe more so in a Democratic regime than a Republican one, but whatever. Better to get him on the winning team than to alienate him.

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175 comments on John Tierney's brilliant energy plan

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