Like a lot of reddit posts, it seems like it was written by a slightly-precocious teenager. I’m not much of a singularity believer but the case is very weak.
“Declining Energy Returns” is based on the false idea that civilization requires exponential increases in energy input, which has been wrong for decades. Per capita energy consumption has been stagnant in the first world for decades, and most of these countries have stagnant or declining populations. Focusing on EROI and “quality” of oil produced is a mistake. We don’t lack for sources of energy; the whole basis of the peak oil collapse theory was that other energy sources can’t replace oil’s vital role as a transport fuel.
“Economic feasability” is non-sequitur concerned with whether gains from technology will go only to the rich, not relevant to whether or not it will happen.
“Political resistance and corruption” starts out badly as the commenter apparently believes in the really dumb idea that electric cars have always been a viable competitor to internal combustion but the idea was suppressed by some kind of conspiracy. If you know anything about the engineering it took to make electric cars semi-viable competitors to ICE, the idea is obviously wrong. Even without getting into the technical aspect, there are lots of countries which had independent car industries and a strong incentive to get off oil (e.g. Germany and Japan before and during WW2).
“Declining Energy Returns” is based on the false idea that civilization requires exponential increases in energy input, which has been wrong for decades. Per capita energy consumption has been stagnant in the first world for decades, and most of these countries have stagnant or declining populations. Focusing on EROI and “quality” of oil produced is a mistake. We don’t lack for sources of energy; the whole basis of the peak oil collapse theory was that other energy sources can’t replace oil’s vital role as a transport fuel.
This seems relevant These statistics do not support your claim that energy consumption per capita has been stagnant. Did I miss something? Perhaps you’re referring strictly to stagnation in per capita use of fossil fuels? Do you have different sources of support? After all, this is merely one data point.
I’m not particularly sure where I stand with regards to the OP, part of the reason I brought it up was because this post sorely needed evidence to be brought up to the table, none of which I see.
I suppose this lack of support gives a reader the impression of naiveté. but I was hoping members here would clarify with their own, founded claims. Thank you for the debunks, I’m sure there’s plenty of literature to link to as such, which is exactly what I’m after. The engineering behind electric cars, and perhaps its history, will be a topic I’ll be investigating myself in a bit. If you have any preferred sources for teaching purposes, I’d love a link.
This seems relevant These statistics do not support your claim that energy consumption per capita has been stagnant. Did I miss something?
Yep, your link is for world energy use per capita, my claim is that it was stagnant for the first world. E.g. in the US it peaked in 1978 and has since declined by about a fifth. Developed world is more relevant because that’s where cutting edge research and technological advancement happens. Edit: here’s a graph from the source you provided showing the energy consumption history of the main developed countries, all of which follow the same pattern.
I don’t really have a single link to sum up the difference between engineering an ICE car with adequate range and refuel time and a battery-electric vehicle with comparable range/recharge time. If you’re really interested I would suggest reading about the early history of motor vehicles and then reading about the decades long development history of lithium-ion batteries before they became a viable product.
Like a lot of reddit posts, it seems like it was written by a slightly-precocious teenager. I’m not much of a singularity believer but the case is very weak.
“Declining Energy Returns” is based on the false idea that civilization requires exponential increases in energy input, which has been wrong for decades. Per capita energy consumption has been stagnant in the first world for decades, and most of these countries have stagnant or declining populations. Focusing on EROI and “quality” of oil produced is a mistake. We don’t lack for sources of energy; the whole basis of the peak oil collapse theory was that other energy sources can’t replace oil’s vital role as a transport fuel.
“Economic feasability” is non-sequitur concerned with whether gains from technology will go only to the rich, not relevant to whether or not it will happen.
“Political resistance and corruption” starts out badly as the commenter apparently believes in the really dumb idea that electric cars have always been a viable competitor to internal combustion but the idea was suppressed by some kind of conspiracy. If you know anything about the engineering it took to make electric cars semi-viable competitors to ICE, the idea is obviously wrong. Even without getting into the technical aspect, there are lots of countries which had independent car industries and a strong incentive to get off oil (e.g. Germany and Japan before and during WW2).
This seems relevant These statistics do not support your claim that energy consumption per capita has been stagnant. Did I miss something? Perhaps you’re referring strictly to stagnation in per capita use of fossil fuels? Do you have different sources of support? After all, this is merely one data point.
I’m not particularly sure where I stand with regards to the OP, part of the reason I brought it up was because this post sorely needed evidence to be brought up to the table, none of which I see.
I suppose this lack of support gives a reader the impression of naiveté. but I was hoping members here would clarify with their own, founded claims. Thank you for the debunks, I’m sure there’s plenty of literature to link to as such, which is exactly what I’m after. The engineering behind electric cars, and perhaps its history, will be a topic I’ll be investigating myself in a bit. If you have any preferred sources for teaching purposes, I’d love a link.
Yep, your link is for world energy use per capita, my claim is that it was stagnant for the first world. E.g. in the US it peaked in 1978 and has since declined by about a fifth. Developed world is more relevant because that’s where cutting edge research and technological advancement happens. Edit: here’s a graph from the source you provided showing the energy consumption history of the main developed countries, all of which follow the same pattern.
I don’t really have a single link to sum up the difference between engineering an ICE car with adequate range and refuel time and a battery-electric vehicle with comparable range/recharge time. If you’re really interested I would suggest reading about the early history of motor vehicles and then reading about the decades long development history of lithium-ion batteries before they became a viable product.