Surprisingly, while I agree that energy isn't infinite and we need to be smart about the future, energy use does have the potential to go down. Per capita energy use peaked in the 1970s and has been either going sideways or slowly dropping since, and the energy required for a unit of economic input has also been dropping. This all makes sense since we're constantly finding more efficient ways to use energy.
The slow march of efficiency reminds me of the story of the 4 minute mile: It was believed forever that human beings simply were not capable of running a mile in 4 minutes. Over time, however, training methods improved, material science improved, dietary science improved, and today a 4 minute mile isn't the height of human achievement, it's achievable by relatively normal athletes.
It seems to me that the state keeps trying to do the equivalent of loading a runner up with cocaine thinking that they just need to give a bit more cocaine and they'll hit that mark when continuous improvements adding up over time will be more effective.
The slow march of efficiency reminds me of the story of the 4 minute mile: It was believed forever that human beings simply were not capable of running a mile in 4 minutes. Over time, however, training methods improved, material science improved, dietary science improved, and today a 4 minute mile isn't the height of human achievement, it's achievable by relatively normal athletes.
It seems to me that the state keeps trying to do the equivalent of loading a runner up with cocaine thinking that they just need to give a bit more cocaine and they'll hit that mark when continuous improvements adding up over time will be more effective.
"It's great! I have no money because everything I need to live is more expensive, but 3 times a year they send me money I needed 365 times a year!"
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