Great to see this write-up. I'm halfway through he book and it is a sobering corrective that I didn't know was necessary. The author convincingly demonstrates that it may be a wee bit foolish to bet on an energy transition in the future, when it's really never happened before. Liebreich sounds particularly cartoonish as Frezzos says up front that because transition is illusory, what we require is wholesale systems/cultural/economic transformation to, yes, use much, much, much, less energy. The book rightly places us in the quicksand our economic system has trapped us in. No rainbows and unicorns.
Thanks for writing this. I have read More and More and More and just ordered your book - The Story of Upfront Carbon. Being so deeply involved in the energy efficiency space it’s a difficult subject for me to bring up with people but an extremely important one.
Here in the USA, we are in a disintegrating Boeing jet falling headlong toward forced sufficiency bc our government is doubling, tripling (and beyond) the cost of every mundane element of daily existence while nerfing the central bank’s ability to soften the blow from this madness. This is how unchecked greed accidentally saves us from ourselves, I guess?
"...our government is doubling, tripling (and beyond) the cost..."
You ought to checking your information before putting out information that is orders magnitude out of whack like those; the US CPI is not 200% or 300%+ inflation. How do I know that?
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the rate was 2.7% for the end of July 2025.
And if our government truly "nerfing the central bank", don't you think that the current high interest rate (compared to the REAL CPI, unemployment rate, et al) would have already been lowered by at least 150 basis points by now?
"...This is how unchecked greed..."
I'm still trying to figure this out unless it is just a talking point. Are you saying that manufacturers and suppliers are raising their prices 200-300% simply to increase their profits?
You DO know what that will do to the marketplace if that's what you know what's happening, right?
And no, tariffs haven't had any kind of that effect at this time, so that is a closed-off argument.
Great to see this write-up. I'm halfway through he book and it is a sobering corrective that I didn't know was necessary. The author convincingly demonstrates that it may be a wee bit foolish to bet on an energy transition in the future, when it's really never happened before. Liebreich sounds particularly cartoonish as Frezzos says up front that because transition is illusory, what we require is wholesale systems/cultural/economic transformation to, yes, use much, much, much, less energy. The book rightly places us in the quicksand our economic system has trapped us in. No rainbows and unicorns.
Grim on more & more & more…
Thanks for writing this. I have read More and More and More and just ordered your book - The Story of Upfront Carbon. Being so deeply involved in the energy efficiency space it’s a difficult subject for me to bring up with people but an extremely important one.
Here in the USA, we are in a disintegrating Boeing jet falling headlong toward forced sufficiency bc our government is doubling, tripling (and beyond) the cost of every mundane element of daily existence while nerfing the central bank’s ability to soften the blow from this madness. This is how unchecked greed accidentally saves us from ourselves, I guess?
(Probably goes without saying, but this mass extinction of rational thought in the USA will not stay within our borders)
Yep, stating that the inflation rate is up 200%-300% is quite rational...
"...our government is doubling, tripling (and beyond) the cost..."
You ought to checking your information before putting out information that is orders magnitude out of whack like those; the US CPI is not 200% or 300%+ inflation. How do I know that?
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the rate was 2.7% for the end of July 2025.
And if our government truly "nerfing the central bank", don't you think that the current high interest rate (compared to the REAL CPI, unemployment rate, et al) would have already been lowered by at least 150 basis points by now?
"...This is how unchecked greed..."
I'm still trying to figure this out unless it is just a talking point. Are you saying that manufacturers and suppliers are raising their prices 200-300% simply to increase their profits?
You DO know what that will do to the marketplace if that's what you know what's happening, right?
And no, tariffs haven't had any kind of that effect at this time, so that is a closed-off argument.
Could you review Vaclav Smil "How the World Really Works". I recall it's on a similar theme. I found it very readable.
I liked that book! I reviewed it a few years ago before I was laid off from Treehugger; here it is from my archives.
https://authory.com/LloydAlter/How-the-World-Really-Works-Is-the-Latest-From-Vaclav-Smil-and-Its-Getting-Mixed-Reception-afd31356c9794489a95e5bbac0528be6b