Optimism Despite the March of the Economists

There seems to be a sense again that all that's to be invented has been invented. That's lunacy.  Not in recent memory have economists been so popular, nor were more in the steady march of dispensing wisdom nightly on TV, in columns, installed as federal potentates, czars of financial recovery and as pundits, prognosticators and…

Giant Leaps and Small Steps for Energy Technology

President Kennedy's 1961 speech launched the Apollo Program. Imagine if he had invoked the spirit of the Roaring '20s and the technology of the first radio broadcasts. That's the time span that separates today from the Apollo and, even longer, from the Manhattan projects that were embraced as archetypes for 21st century energy policy. While…

The Automobile Shifts Gears

The future of the automobile is being fought on the two stages of politics and raw capitalism. No surprise, given that cars are at the epicenter of not only oil demand and manufacturing might, but also technology deployment. Both presidential aspirants (cars seem to bring out the inner dweeb in the candidates) have tech-centric future-car…

Brownout

What happens when you don't build more power plants? Get ready for spiking electricity rates, brownouts and even blackouts as demand soars. If you think runaway oil prices are upsetting, just wait for what's in store for electricity. Similar forces are in play. Demand is rising fast; supply is not.