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<div style="line-height: 17px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 17px; margin-right: 0.2pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; ">An excellent article that qualifies and quantifies a seldom discussed part of the contemporary energy challenge: </p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 17px; margin-right: 0.2pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; "><br></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 17px; margin-right: 0.2pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; "> <b style="line-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; "><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 17px; font-size: 10pt; ">http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/10/the-energy-trap/</span></b><span style="line-height: 14px; background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; "></span></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 17px; margin-right: 0.2pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; "><b style="line-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; background-color: white; font-size: 10pt; "><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 17px; font-size: 10pt; "><br></span></b></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 17px; margin-right: 0.2pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; ">which implicitly raises the question as to whether society will have the sociopolitical will to endure short-term pain for long-term gain with respect to the impending energy transition away from nonrenewables. On the face of it, this choice seems substantially better than the alternative, i.e., serial short-term deferrals (that is to say, repeatedly not having the political or social will to endure short-term energy sacrifices in favour of long-term stability) followed by long-term pain, yet, ironically, no modern society has yet demonstrated the discipline to pull it off.</p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 17px; margin-right: 0.2pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; "><b style="font-weight: bold; "><br></b></p><p class="ecxMsoNormal" style="line-height: 17px; margin-right: 0.2pt; margin-bottom: 1.35em; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; ">As the author explains:</p></span></div><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 14px; color: rgb(42, 42, 42); font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "><div style="line-height: 17px; "><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; "><br style="line-height: 17px; "></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px; "><i><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; ">The invisible hand of the market will slap us silly demanding a new energy infrastructure based on non-fossil solutions. But here’s the rub. <b style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">The construction of that shiny new infrastructure requires not just money, but…</b></span><b style="line-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 10pt; ">energy</b><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; ">. And that’s </span><b style="line-height: 14px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 10pt; ">the very commodity in short supply</b><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; ">. Will we </span><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; ">really</span><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; "> be willing to sacrifice </span><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; ">additional</span></i><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; "><i style="line-height: 17px; "> energy in the short term—effectively steepening the decline—for a long-term energy plan?</i> </span></div><div style="line-height: 17px; "><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; "><br style="line-height: 17px; "></span></div><div style="line-height: 17px; "><span style="line-height: 14px; font-size: 10pt; ">Please note that this is not a screed arguing in favour of doing little or maintaining business as usual - the author is very clear about the importance of developing a <font color="#ff0000" style="line-height: normal; "><b style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">long-term energy plan</b></font> and moving towards a <font color="#00b050" style="line-height: normal; "><b style="line-height: 17px; font-weight: bold; ">regenerative economy</b></font> but he does raise some proactive questions that I think few have considered, much less tried to answer, thusfar.</span></div></span> </div></body>
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