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The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, The Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy

08
Saturday January 2005

The sheer volume of talk about energy, energy prices, and energy policy—on both sides of the political aisle—suggests that we must know something about these subjects. But in fact, according to Huber and Mills, the things we “know” are mostly myths.

They argue that most of what we think of as “energy waste” actually benefits us; that more efficient cars, engines, and bulbs will never lower demand, and that energy supply is infinite. As for the much-maligned power grid itself, it is the worst system we could have, except for all the proposed alternatives.

Instead of trying to conserve energy, they contend, we should increase the supply of it. This will mean higher productivity, more jobs, and a growing domestic economy. Across the board, energy isn’t the problem, it’s the solution.

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