1000 barrels a second (part 2)

Peter Tertzakian, energy economist and author of a just released book, A Thousand Barrels A Second – The Coming of the Oil Break Point and the Challenges Facing An Energy Dependent World continues his discussion with Betsy about how to get our society into fuel detox.  Listen (7 min).
Betsy also mentioned Richard Heinberg's "The Party's Over". His mot recent book is "Power Down".

Comments

[Paul Klinkman]

Your guest Mr. Tertzakian talks about taking the low-hanging fruit, but the slightly higher-hanging fruit is so tempting!

I feel that the prime roadblock to getting off oil is the U.S. patent system. It costs perhaps $25,000 for a patent, the process can take 8 years or more, and many, many inventors are robbed. The Republicans are tightening the patent laws even further in favor of the big companies.

The actual inventing isn't the problem. Far cheaper solar electricity can be produced in quite a few ways. Gasoline will be surprisingly easy to get along without. Home heating and solar hot water heating is easily improved.

Inventors such as myself live poor for all of our lives, but we sit on the solutions year after year. If we say anything our chance at income is gone with the wind. More important, no income means that we can never get the other inventions out. Reports are that many inventors take their secrets with them to the grave.

Should inventors live and die poor? If so, other than the rest of us living off their willing to live and die for society's good, where will inventors come from? Inventors often take decades to become good at their craft, and they need to eat.

Perhaps the solution is for inventors to flee America, and find a good country with a future.

[Mauricio Babilonia]

I think the author of The Party's Over spells his last name "Heinberg." I should also mention that it's an extremely interesting book, as is his latest, Power Down.