It takes energy to produce energy, and things will get tighter still with renewables

  • 📰 BDliveSA
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 34 sec. here
  • 2 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 17%
  • Publisher: 63%

South Africa Headlines News

South Africa Latest News,South Africa Headlines

We may find that a green-energy future is one that lacks the vibrant economic growth to which we are accustomed, writes Mark Buchanan

We may find that a green-energy future is one that lacks the vibrant economic growth to which we are accustomedEconomists teach us that resources don’t just run out. As something becomes scarcer, its price rises, triggering a search for new supplies or the discovery of substitutes. We’ve seen it happen over the past two decades in the oil market, as dwindling reserves triggered the US boom in oil derived from shale.

Some researchers argue there is a limit to how much energy a modern economy can devote solely to finding more of it. Beyond this limit, sustained economic growth becomes impossible. This link between energy and growth suggests that many of the advances that the global economy has experienced over the past two centuries have been due to the availability of cheap, high-quality fossil-fuel energy. Conventional oil and coal provided so much more energy than it took to produce that there was plenty of energy left for building cars, roads and airports, for manufacturing industrial goods, growing food, and investing in sophisticated science and medicine.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 12. in ZA

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Western Cape farmer gets R3.5m fine for water transgressionsThe matter first appeared in the Clanwilliam Regional Court in March 2018, culminating in the fine being meted out on Friday.
Source: TheCitizen_News - 🏆 6. / 75 Read more »

With ‘Libra’, Facebook takes on the world of cryptocurrencyAnalyst and cryptocurrency investor Lou Kerner says the move has the potential to open the door for cryptocurrency to a wider public.
Source: TheCitizen_News - 🏆 6. / 75 Read more »

Tony Yengeni slams Presidential Golf Challenge, says it’s a money-making schemeThe NEC member says the event has been hijacked by the rich. tyengeni1954 people are bitter, they were not selected to be Ministers.
Source: TheCitizen_News - 🏆 6. / 75 Read more »

Nursing taken to business levelNongcebo Nsibande is a young nurse on a mission to change people's views about sexual reproductive health.
Source: SowetanLIVE - 🏆 13. / 63 Read more »

Bill Cosby's 'America's Dad' Father's Day post gets mixed reaction | IOL EntertainmentDisgraced actor and comedian Bill Cosby's Father's Day post, which was shared on his Instagram page on Sunday, received mixed ...
Source: IOL - 🏆 46. / 51 Read more »

Fuel levy 'will soar to R10 a litre' if it's the only funding option for roadsIf the fuel levy was the only funding mechanism for the maintenance of the country’s roads and the expansion of the road network, this would cost motorists dearly. Can Mr Schüssler substantiate how he gets to this figure?
Source: TimesLIVE - 🏆 28. / 59 Read more »