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It frustrates me when energy consumption is used as a proxy for growth. That was probably true during industrial periods when manufacturing was the key economic
by timthorn 17y ago
It frustrates me when energy consumption is used as a proxy for growth. That was probably true during industrial periods when manufacturing was the key economic producer, but isn't education and time more important now? Of course energy is still important to that, but to take a simple example - I can build a web store much more quickly now than I could 15 years ago thanks to the advent of frameworks, and indeed I don't need to build one myself as I can use an already developed one. My time can now be spent developing novel things.
- euroclydon 17y agoWhew, I don't really know. If you visit the Peak Oil website and get beat over the head with the list of things that are made from or depend on oil, like paint and plastics, most transportation, even feeding the world depends heavily on natural gas fertilizers, not to mention diesel in the tractors, you'll see that are so many things we consider necessities which can't be replaced by photons racing down a fiber-optic cable.
- timthorn 17y agoI'm not trying to argue that energy/oil isn't important for growth. I think its that I see the argument so often that growth is the same as consumption, when it's not - it's the creation of value, not objects.
- euroclydon 17y agoOh sure. A good analogy for me would be swimming up stream. Even if the outbound tide of Peak Oil is draining our wealth, technological advances can stem that tide.
- jacabado 17y agoA lot of people would agree with you in 2001, or better said, before 2001, then the .COM bubble happened.