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June 01, 2005
Parallels and Angles
Over at Chiasm, John Atkinson reveals his true feelings for that annoying peak oil guy... James "Clusterfuck" Howard Kunstler, "one of peak oil's bigger showmen," has been busy getting as much press as possible before "The Long Emergency" gets moved over to the 'classic science fiction' bookshelf in a few years. His cartoonish apocalyptica would be just ignorable if it weren't for all the genuinely misanthropic, hateful venom and oblivious self-righteousness with which he delivers his sermons, which make him just about as insufferable as any other fundamentalist nutjob... Mr. Atkinson has been gifted with an admirable clarity of expression. He was very pleased to discover some similar thoughts over at Crumb Trail. It's been amusing to watch pseudo-environmentalists tip-toeing around the crushingly stupid work of Howard Kunstler. Those with broken socio-political readers and a profound lack of techno-social knowledge have endorsed Kunstler (see Grist interview). Others with better sense cautiously distance themselves, trying to find a place upwind of the stench while remaining nominally a member of the herd (not a pack). Some fellows have the knowledge and self-confidence to call a spade a freaking shovel. Crumb Trail is a product of Gary Jones, who also blogs at Muck and Mystery. Both blogs are very fine, especially if you're looking for informed and sardonic environmental commentary. I particularly liked his post on terra preta soil. Plus, any man who describes Paul Ehrlich as a "politicized pseudo-environmental wanker" is well on his way to free beers in my book. Mr. Jones in turn points us toward a post at The Ergosphere which takes exception to the Kunstlerian vision. The problem with Kunstler's thesis is that you don't even have to look to fiction to find the counterexamples. For one thing, we're not going to quit using oil if we really need it; we can make it. Nazi Germany had industrial coal-to-liquids plants over sixty years ago, and apartheid South Africa kept the technology alive while dealing with oil embargoes... I'm indebted to The Ergosphere for introducing me to a delightful concept in transport which was totally new to me. It's the Blade Runner, a railroad and truck combo. Apparently, the idea has been kicking around for decades in one unworkable version or another, but various groups of innovators think they may now have reasonable solutions. This has been done before but has been heavy, complicated and expensive because of attempts to drive the rail wheels. The Silvertip dual mode does not do this. The driving and braking power comes from the road-mode tyres still contacting the rails. How anyone can look around at this modern world and not feel just the tiniest bit encouraged is beyond me. But then, lots of people lack historical perspective. Kunstler's idea of the good life would probably involve sitting on the front porch of an evening, knocking back corn liquor and strumming on the old banjo. Hey, that's fine as far as it goes, but looking at the big picture, is it really enough? The ecotopian vision has long struck me as lacking ambition. I wrote a couple of posts not too long ago that emphasized the diversity of interests to be found in our society, and the role that enthusiasts play in fostering innovation. I believe the term plenitude was mentioned. I think we're heading for a world with more options, not fewer. Play your damn banjos. Other people have their own notions of fun. Rand Simberg links to a project that seems tailor made to illustrate my point. Considering the short operational life of the aircraft in an already lost cause, the popularity of the Me 262 has endured with surprising fervor. Here's their FAQ page and image gallery. Western civilization has been a fountain of innovation (relative to others) for over a millenium. Often it's been forward looking innovation, the sometimes maligned notion of "progress", but it works backward just as well. In the fields of conservation, preservation, the collation and protection of rare artifacts and knowledge, the West has traditionally excelled. Viking longships, Greek triremes, Drake's Golden Hind, the Swedish warship Vasa, all have been the subject of reconstruction or restoration projects in their time. Wonderful, isn't it? Reassuring too. A civilization that can afford such pleasant frivolities is not even close to the edge of sustainability...
posted by Justin on 06.01.05 at 10:43 PM
Comments
"Sucks"? Sucks what? A lollypop? As for the other meaning of "suck", J. Edgar Hoover once pointed out: "I regret that the FBI is powerless to act in cases of oral-genital intercourse except where it interferes with interestate commerce." Steven Malcolm Anderson the Lesbian-worshipping man's-man-admiring myth-based egoist · June 2, 2005 03:12 PM So what is your rebuttal to the notion of peak oil? While I loathe enviro-nutters as much as the next guy, the concept that we've sucked out about half of the geologically accessable oil is pretty solid. As to making liquid fuels from coal, there is something to that. I've come to the conclusion that "the hydrogen economy" is a slight misdirection. Given the problems in transport and distribution of liquid hydrogen, I've come to believe that we'll ultimately use coal in combination with nuclear-generated hydrogen to make something like synthetic diesel fuel. Why? To get from carbon to hydrocarbons (the liquids that are so convenient) we have to add hydrogen. That step needs additional energy. So it won't be as greenhouse gas-free as one might like, but it still will work. There just doesn't seem to be a better idea out there. Whitehall · June 2, 2005 08:48 PM I'm sorry to report that spam prevention software is now preventing ordinary blogs from pinging each other. In this case, the word "Clusterf**k" triggered Ping Rejection Syndrome. Sigh. Eric Scheie · June 3, 2005 09:17 AM |
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hey, thanks for the kind words Justin. not sure if you saw my post from a week or two ago about user/enthusiast innovation, but if not, you should definitely check out that "Democratizing Innovation" paper linked therein. kunstler apparently plays in a band, I wonder if he plays an electric instrument? I bet his band sucks?