I’d say it’s worse than useless; it’s actively societally harmful.
Category Archives: Economics
“Peak” Oil
The U.S’s oil reserves now larger than Saudi Arabia’s.
Huh. Like Glenn, I’m also old enough to remember when the Obama the Wise told us we couldn’t drill our way out of the energy situation. Reminder: Every resource is a renewable resource with sufficiently cheap energy.
The Wolves Of Silicon Valley
Joel Kotkin and Victor Davis Hanson have both written about the California oligarchy, but this piece points out their cruel but self-righteous youth:
“There are literally shanty towns underneath most highway overpasses in the city,” says Martínez. “But that techie kid who goes and gets his $5 single-origin, cruelty-free pour-over in some trendy coffee shop? He doesn’t give a s***. He just wants to get some liquidity around his shares and steps over the homeless guy en route to his yoga class.”
And, of course, as Ed Driscoll points out, and will come as no surprise to readers here, the dirty little secret is that they’re self-righteous Democrats.
College Snowflakes
What’s next for them? With bonus video from Ashe Schow.
The Apollo Cargo Cult Incarnate
Reading comments on Donald Robertson’s excellent disquisition on SLS in Space News, I don’t think anyone so encapsulates the insanity as Gary Church.
I should note that I found this link via the space-policy section of Reddit, which I’ve added to the blog roll.
Oh, and speaking of insanity on human spaceflight policy, I’d like to fisk this nonsense, but it’s long, and I just don’t have the gumption for it right now. I doubt if many have even read the stupid thing.
Automated Vehicles
I probably won’t be able to make it, but this looks like an interesting symposium later this month.
SLS/Orion
Donald Robertson has an op-ed at Space News that reflects many of the themes of my monograph (which, by the way, I have updated with feedback from the past couple days).
Solar Cells
Bendable solar cells, much thinner than a human hair.
Asteroid Day
Thoughts from Instapundit.
I should note that all of the technologies needed to get to Mars would also help a lot in improving our ability to herd asteroids.
[Update a few minutes later]
Thoughts from Oliver Morton from a year ago: Taking the hit.
A Grand Solar Minimum
It may be happening:
The policy significance of this issue is clear: if we are headed to a mid-20th century solar minimum, or a Grand Solar Minimum for the next two centuries, this will offset greenhouse warming to some extent. The extent of the offset depends on whether climate sensitivity to CO2 is on the larger or smaller end of the range of estimates, and the magnitude of the solar impact. But the sign of the solar offset is becoming increasingly clear: towards cooling.
One of the reasons I’ve been skeptical about claims that carbon will be catastrophic is the willful insistence on ignoring the sun, and I can’t think of any reason to do it than because we don’t understand it, and therefore it can’t be included in the hysterical modeling, and it can’t fit the narrative. I continue to believe that what we don’t understand about climate is much greater than what we do.
[Update a few minutes later]
Is the dam bursting? Climate researchers who have previously denigrated solar activity as being insignificant are now warning of a new mini ice age.
I really have trouble taking any of this seriously.