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Is Covid-19 providing cover for Jay Hanson’s Society of Sloth?
Is Covid-19 providing cover for Jay Hanson’s Society of Sloth? Gail Tverberg made a comment today that rings true and motivated me to write about something I’ve been mulling for a while… https://ourfiniteworld.com/2020/12/23/2020-the-year-things-started-going-badly-wrong/comment-page-24/#comment-274042 I think the reaction to COVID-19 is part of how a self-organizing system works. People were looking for a reason to cut back/shut […]
2020: The Year Things Started Going Badly Wrong
2020: The Year Things Started Going Badly Wrong How today’s energy problem is different from peak oil Many people believe that the economy will start going badly wrong when we “run out of oil.” The problem we have today is indeed an energy problem, but it is a different energy problem. Let me explain it with an […]
Humans Left Sustainability Behind as Hunter-Gatherers
Humans Left Sustainability Behind as Hunter-Gatherers Many people believe that humans can have a sustainable future by using solar panels and wind turbines. Unfortunately, the only truly sustainable course, in terms of moving in cycles with nature, is interacting with the environment in a manner similar to the approach used by chimpanzees and baboons. Even […]
Fossil Fuel Production Is Reaching Limits in a Strange Way
Fossil Fuel Production Is Reaching Limits in a Strange Way Strangely enough, the limit we seem to be reaching with respect to fossil fuel extraction comes from low prices. At low prices, the extraction of oil, coal, and natural gas becomes unprofitable. Producers go bankrupt, or they voluntarily cut back production in an attempt to force […]
Reaching the End of Early Stimulus – What’s Ahead?
Reaching the End of Early Stimulus – What’s Ahead? Many people thought that COVID-19 would be gone with a short shutdown. They also thought that the world’s economic problems could be cured with a six month “dose” of stimulus. It is increasingly clear that neither of these assumptions is correct. Despite the claims of epidemiologists, our […]
Today’s Energy Predicament – A Look at Some Charts
Today’s Energy Predicament – A Look at Some Charts Today’s energy predicament is a strange situation that most modelers have never really considered. Let me explain some of the issues I see, using some charts. [1] It is probably not possible to reduce current energy consumption by 80% or more without dramatically reducing population. A glance […]
Why a Great Reset Based on Green Energy Isn’t Possible
Why a Great Reset Based on Green Energy Isn’t Possible It seems like a reset of an economy should work like a reset of your computer: Turn it off and turn it back on again; most problems should be fixed. However, it doesn’t really work that way. Let’s look at a few of the misunderstandings that […]
COVID-19 and the economy: Where do we go from here?
COVID-19 and the economy: Where do we go from here? The COVID-19 story keeps developing. At first, everyone listened to epidemiologists telling us that a great deal of social distancing, and even the closing down of economies, would be helpful. After trying these things, we ended up with a huge number of people out of work […]
Increased Violence Reflects an Energy Problem
Increased Violence Reflects an Energy Problem Why are we seeing so much violence recently? One explanation is that people are sympathizing with those in the Minneapolis area who are upset at the death of George Floyd. They believe that a white cop used excessive force in subduing Floyd, leading to his death. I believe that there […]
Understanding Our Pandemic – Economy Predicament
Understanding Our Pandemic – Economy Predicament The world’s number one problem today is that the world’s population is too large for its resource base. Some people have called this situation overshoot. The world economy is ripe for a major change, such as the current pandemic, to bring the situation into balance. The change doesn’t necessarily come from […]
COVID-19 and oil at $1: Is there a way forward?
COVID-19 and oil at $1: Is there a way forward? Many people are concerned today with the low price of oil. Others are concerned about slowing or stopping COVID-19. Is there any way forward? I gave a few hints regarding what is ahead in my last post, Economies won’t be able to recover after shutdowns. We live in […]
Economies won’t be able to recover after shutdowns
Economies won’t be able to recover after shutdowns Citizens seem to be clamoring for shutdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19. There is one major difficulty, however. Once an economy has been shut down, it is extremely difficult for the economy to recover back to the level it had reached previously. In fact, the longer the […]
Easily overlooked issues regarding COVID-19
Easily overlooked issues regarding COVID-19 We read a lot in the news about the new Wuhan coronavirus and the illness it causes (COVID-19), but some important points often get left out. [1] COVID-19 is incredibly contagious. COVID-19 transmits extremely easily from person to person. Interpersonal contact doesn’t need to be very long; a taxi driver can […]
It Is Easy to Overreact to the Chinese Coronavirus
It Is Easy to Overreact to the Chinese Coronavirus Recently, a new coronavirus has been causing many illnesses and deaths. The virus first became active in Wuhan, China, but it has already spread to the rest of China. Scattered cases have been identified around the rest of the world as well. There are two important questions […]
Scientific Models and Myths: What Is the Difference?
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 far beyond myths.” It seems to me that the […]
