Letters to the Editor – 28/10 – Energy innovation, Best of Twitter
Energy innovation
[Re: The global economy sinks under its debts as the real cost of energy rises, Thursday]
Tim Morgan’s vision of low EROEI (Energy Return On Energy Invested) constraining living standards is overly pessimistic. Though his EROEI data may be true, the economy-as-an-energy-system argument requires two additional premises, which are not. First, the argument neglects continuously improving energy intensity, as human ingenuity squeezes more dollars from every joule of energy, with superior technology and new products.
Secondly, it ignores the importance of rising levels of capital goods in exploiting EROEI and consequent energy-per-capita. There’s a difference between a man with one solar PV panel and a man with 10. Both face the exactly the same EROEI, yet the latter has a higher standard of living. Lower EROEI may reduce growth rates, but it doesn’t require future poverty or lower standards of living.
Alistair Morley
[Re: Five facts about the modern world that will make you think, Wednesday]
For too many entrepreneurs, the exit is the goal from the start. But such serial entrepreneurship could result in the creation of businesses which are unsustainable, or that don’t leave real value.
Name withheld
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