An Index of Articles on Energy and the Environment


155: The History and Future of World Energy, by Loren Cobb

"The media these days are flooded with stories about energy: hybrid cars, renewable energy, peak oil, fossil fuels and global warming, progress in wind power, biofuels, population pressures... it goes on and on. Unfortunately, no story that I have yet seen places all of these dramatic changes in historical perspective. This letter attempts to fill this gap..." [27 Mar 07]

148: Energy Apocalypse? by Loren Cobb

"Peak Oil is the theory that world oil production will hit an all-time maximum within the next few years, if it hasn't already done so. The significance of Peak Oil lies not in its precise timing, but rather in our possibly violent and dysfunctional response to the growing scarcity of inexpensive energy during the decades that follow..." [8 Sep 06]

145: Peak Oil and Hybrid Cars, by Loren Cobb

"Have you test-driven a hybrid car recently? I recently had that experience at a Toyota dealership. You turn it on and there is only silence. You engage the motor, and the car silently moves forward. Enter a highway and step on the accelerator, and its small gasoline engine finally kicks in with an almost imperceptible vibration... This experience led me to wonder how hybrid cars of the future may affect the pattern of energy use on the planet. Here are some thoughts..." [20 Apr 06]

139: Hope and Light for the Winter Solstice, by Loren Cobb

"Where I live, in the snowy mountains of the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice is a time of gathering darkness and freezing temperatures. Arctic blasts of wind deliver ever-deeper piles of snow and ice to our doorsteps, and the weakening sun seems to be losing its battle against the forces of the night... Perhaps it is time for an antidote! Herewith, a warming blast of hope and light delivered to you by The Quaker Economist, just in time to join the season's festivals of lights and song." [15-Dec-05]

136: Interest and Discounting the Future, by Jack Powelson

"What do interest rates have to do with global warming? Read on and see. In the Middle Ages, paying interest on borrowed money was not approved by the Catholic Church, as also not with the Muslim and Jewish religions. Yet borrowers needing money would go to lenders..." [4-Nov-05]

91: Mandatory Recycling, by Asa Janney

"My wife and I have experienced 31 years of blissful marriage. We are quite compatible and get along really well except for a few moments every Thursday evening when we have a big fight over recycling..." [15-Dec-03]

53: Who Will Pay for Water for the World's Poor? by Jack Powelson

"Thirty years ago, at a "starvation camp" in Northern Bolivia, Robin and I watched three persons eke out their week's supply of water from a deep, muddy hole..." [6-Dec-02]

32: Skeptical of the Skeptical Environmentalist, by Jack Powelson

"Was I 'taken in' by Lomborg when I wrote TQE #29? Possibly, and I will eat humble pie if I deserve it. Before doing so, however, a few points disturb me..." [2-Jan-02]

30: Global Warming, by Jack Powelson

"Of all the topics in the TQE letters, global warming has confounded me most..." [9-Dec-01]

29: The Skeptical Environmentalist, by Jack Powelson

"Lomborg was an environmentalist, a member of Greenpeace. Then he met Julian Simon, and he parceled out Simon's many statements about the environment to his students, asking them to do the research to prove Simon wrong. Instead..." [30-Nov-01]

7: The California Energy Crisis, by Jack Powelson

"First, a bit of homespun philosophy. I believe that we in the United States want more than we are willing to pay for. This explains the explosion in consumer debt. But it also applies to how we use government..." [23-Apr-01]

6: What About the Population Problem? by Jack Powelson

"For decades we have been concerned with overpopulation. Now we discover that Europe, Russia, Japan, and other countries are deeply disturbed about loss of population..." [16-Apr-01]

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