The Newest/Oldest Lesson: Why Energy Is Bad
In reference to my previous post about morally righteous (anti-) global warming celebrities, I suggested that those who are horrified by CO2 emissions should curtail al energy-intensive activities until some technology such as cold fusion is perfected. A dedicated reader reminded me, however, that the global warming alarmists aren’t so much energy future optimists as they are anti-energy Malthusians. Good call.
One of the best examples of this truth is a quote from one of our old sparring partners, Paul Ehrlich. Prof. Ehrlich, a man, by the way, with a worse public gambling record than Bill Bennett, when confronted with the theoretical possibility of cold fusion-type energy, said, quite infamously: “Giving society cheap, abundant energy would be the equivalent of giving an idiot child a machine gun.”
That’s really it folks. Some people believe in the flourishing future of a wealthy, productive society. And some believe that human progress and the advance of human civilization is a problem to be solved. Let’s hope they never find the answer.