Conference of the Century! (Fantasizing about capped 350 ppm CO2) — MasterResource

There is no known way to get there except draconian cutbacks in economic output, population, or both. Poverty is of course a perenniel source of conflict within and among nations as well as the leading cause of preventable disease and premature death. Moreover, climate policies punitive enough to induce negative economic and population growth are likely to meet with resistance and promote conflict rather than peace.

"Renewable" Energy: In Search of Definition — MasterResource

Renewable is an energy resource that is replaced rapidly by natural processes… Non-renewable is any resource that is not replaced in a reasonable amount of time (our lifetime, our children’s lifetime, …) and is thus considered ‘used up’ and not available to us again.

Such words as “rapidly” and “reasonable” are subjective, relative terms—not scientific. Another pivotal aspect ignored in these definitions is the fact that although a source (e.g., wind) may be quickly replenishable, it uses up other resources (e.g., land) that are non-replenishable. We will run out of suitable land for wind power sooner than we will run out of fossil fuels. Shouldn’t the entire package be assessed as a whole?