by maddog » Thu 21 Apr, 2016 8:56 pm
G’day GPS,
Demand for oil grows, the price goes up, we search for more, we find more, reserves increase, production increases and price falls. Just ask an unemployed geologist. The Saudis once had power, shale oil has changed this. Should the Saudis, the Russians, or others again conspire to restrict supply, and increase price, shale oil extraction will be ramped up. Not to mention that stored electricity is beginning to look viable to power automobiles. Throughout history technology has provided us solutions; the stone-age did not end for lack of stones.
So, looking forward, we probably need electricity more than we need oil to improve our lives. All of them. Coal, nuclear and hydro can supply plentiful electricity and do so cheaply, right now, with no subsidies. Other renewables may meaningfully contribute eventually, but are they necessary into the foreseeable future? If you are connected to an electricity grid the short answer is no.
The handwringer’s favourite bogie, global warming, has failed to deliver the promised calamity. An unverifiable ‘science’ built on computer modelling, it is a gift that keeps giving until doomsday finally arrives. One day. But really, if given the choice between a hairshirt and a holiday we pick the holiday, so do any of us really believe? And does science not inform us that CO2 is a plant food, that most plants have evolved in a CO2 rich world, and the plants are hungry for more?
And on that note, with Giddy, back we go the Amazon. If you look to the facts, and not just a shocking number, you will find that of the 0.0009% of the Amazon rainforest being cleared each year, the majority is for substance agriculture and cattle ranching. Not palm oil and genetically modified ‘Franken-foods’. Giddy, you will have to look elsewhere for your crisis.
G’day Lachlan,
Yet again we have a really big scary number, another really big scary number. But what is of most interest is the fertility rate. As it falls, so will the population over a generation or two. In the greater scheme of things this is really not too long a time. This is a very simple principle. How should we ensure the fertility rate drops in those pockets of the world where it is still a problem? Should we subscribe to the discredited theories of Malthus (war, famine, plague)? To fertility control and forced family planning? Or to strategies that have been shown to work regardless of the culture to which we belong; poverty reduction and education?
What’s your pick?
Cheers,
Maddog.