“In this century the bulk of humanity will live in large densely populated cities. If the citizens of of these cities are to attain a high quality of life they will require large centralised energy generation. This is not a matter of ideological preference, but of engineering reality.”

– Robert Wilson, The Future of Energy: Why Power Density Matters, Energy Collective, August 8, 2013.

“There is no doubt that we in the United States need to alter our energy strategy. The question is how we will change it. A rational energy strategy must be determined by scientific evaluation of fact and logical analysis of performance and economics–not by emotion, political considerations, and ‘feel good’ methodologies.”

– Jerry Graf (below)

Other than the damage to the economy from the waste itself, the real problem with mandating and subsidizing non-viable energy technology projects is that this distracts us and diverts resources from other efforts to improve our energy production strategy.…

Today’s hydraulic fractionation (fracing) is considered injurious to the environment by its opponents who prefer a state-of-nature and less energy to industrialization and more energy in free market settings. As with so many other technologies, today’s methods are far less invasive and safer than earlier-generation technology. A case in point is the 19th century’s oil-well torpedoing.

In the first years of oil production flowing wells were sometimes hindered by a waxy substance, paraffin, left by crude oil in the well tubing and well bottom. Early efforts to remove residue involved injecting steam, boiling liquids, and air down a well’s tubing.  These mildly successful techniques were then replaced by a far superior alternative – oil well torpedoing.  [1]

Gun powder explosions in water wells had been documented as early as 1808, and between 1860 and 1864, the technique was in use with oil wells as well. …

Tuesday July 2 begins my new Mises Academy online class, “Adventures in Energy Economics.” This five-week $59 course will cover the economic treatment of depletable natural resources, pollution, and climate change, as well as the current public policy debate.

The course naturally will focus on an entrepreneurial, property-rights, Austrian perspective, but the standard mainstream views will be accurately presented. All reading materials will be provided and are included in the course fee.

After the five-week course, the student will have a solid command of some of the major issues in energy economics and will be able to handle typical objections to laissez-faire capitalism coming from an environmentalist perspective.

Scope

The weekly lectures will run from July 2 through July 30. The first week will address the question, “Will we run out of energy?”…

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Issue: 2013-06-15

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