[Blech]

Hi Folks,
First post here, just a comment. I'm a physicist and an engineer, and from practical experience I have no faith that technology will save us. I don't know of any theory on this concept, but in my many years of experience I've seen the problem of, I don't know what to call it, say 'Escalading Technologies'.
Again, purely from experience, the difficulty with tech is that it increasingly becomes harder to maintain the more complicated it gets. You have to solve problems, and usally then solve problems that your problems caused. For example, mankind discovered oil. Then we found we could make a car to use the stuff. This is great, we can quickly get from one place to another. Oops, only if we have a good road. OK, build roads. Oops, now there's huge consumption of oil, find more wells. Oops, all the burning of oil is fouling the air and water, find some so called clean technology. Oops, those catalytic converters take rare materials, better find more. And so on. A simple example, but you get the idea.
The technocrats I work with are convinced that 'something - something you can't even imagine will come along'. Unfortunatly I think not. OIl is beautiful, stick a pipe in the ground and step back before it sprays you in the eye. Nothing comes close to it in terms of value, density and convienence. Hydrogen is a dream, it's too high on the technology ladder to be of any use. Especially for auto's, which is the most garguantuan waste of energy the planet has ever seen. The only long term sources of energy we have are geo and solar. But they'll never equal oil.
Having said this, I don't think we need to be saved. Our modern way of life (especially in America) is a perversity. I've, almost effortlessly, reduced my energy consumption by probably 70% (don't drive, electrical and gas). And I'm now living on a more sane, human scale of proportion.

Blech

[Aaron]

Great Post,

Blech has managed to describe the law of diminishing returns, note the difference in scale between oil & oil alternatives. & observed that this might not be such a bad thing...

In 1 paragraph.

Nice...

[Blech]

Thanks Aaron. Diminishing returns, as you say is the effect. In the case of technology the cause (in my experience) is usually this phenomenon of problems which cause more problems. If the creation rate of problems is par or greater than the solve rate it's an unsustainable technology.

In the case of oil, or apples, it's just a darn problem of getting enough of the high quality stuff. Plain resource limitations.

Blech

[killJOY]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')Again, purely from experience, the difficulty with tech is that it increasingly becomes harder to maintain the more complicated it gets. You have to solve problems, and usally then solve problems that your problems caused.