Modern societies run on power, not mere energy. Power is energy per unit time, or force times speed. We aren't interested in driving as fast as we run, or in phone calls that take a day to go through. We also don't like sitting in the dark, while food is getting warm in the refrigerator, only because our outlets ran out of juice. In short, we crave for power that is just there, waiting for us to be used at will. And, yes, most environmentalists have similar sentiments. Two tons of American love of power, including 450 pounds of human payload. Source: Don Petersen for T he New York Times , September 14, 2012. But, there is a price to pay for our cravings. No, I am not speaking about carbon dioxide emissions or mercury in the fish we eat. Hardly anyone cares about such things anymore. I am talking about our utter, total reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear energy, with large dams providing a thin icing on a huge power cake. You...
In this blog, I continue to write about the environment, ecology, energy, complexity, and humans. Of particular interest to me are human self-delusions and mad stampedes to nowhere.