jlrogers±³© wrote:
Thank you Professor Maltus.

Very good JL. You get the bonus points for Esoteric Trivia. I'm impressed.

For those who have no idea what contribution Malthus made, see

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Malthus.html
(the short version)

http://socserv2.socsci.mcmaster.ca/~.../3ll3/malthus/
(the detailed version including the actual works of Malthus)

Applying Malthusian principles to the energy supply may be valid
economics, I tend to lean that way.

The reason why we are so dependent on oil & fossil fuels is that the
number of watts per dollar is very much greater than anything on the
near horizon. So, yes, we will have plenty of energy to power our
hi-tech industrialized economy after the oil is gone... the bad news is
that it will cost a lot more, leaving much less disposable aggregate
income, *until* higher levels of technology bring the cost of that
energy down.

Most people who tout 'alternative energy' can't do math.

Regards
Doug King