Book Review: The Bottomless Well: Why We Will Never Run Out of
Energy
For anyone who has any interest in energy, its cost, future and
the political debate over this precious resource- The
Bottomless Well is a must read. This book is an intriguing
insight to the other side of what most of us have been led to
believe on the environmentalist monopoly of the subject. The
Bottomless Well makes the case that most of the things we
think we know are mostly myths- because we really don't
understand what the essence of energy is in the first place. The
book demonstrates how a better understanding of energy will
radically change our views and policies on a number of very
controversial issues. The Bottomless Well also explains
why demand for energy will only continue to increase, why most
of what we believe is "energy waste" actually proves out to be a
benefit for all; why more efficient vehicles, engines, and light
bulbs will never lower demand, and why the earth's energy supply
is actually infinite.
The Bottomless Well goes on to point out that that the
cost of energy has increasingly less and less to do with the
actual cost of fuel. With roughly five percent of the world's
population, America consumes over 25 percent of the world's
natural gas, 43 percent of its motor gasoline, 25 percent of its
crude petroleum, 23 percent of its coal, and 26 percent of its
total electricity production. But the book points out that most
our energy consumption isn't for locomotion, lighting, or
cooling. What we use energy for, mainly, is to extract, refine,
process, and purify energy into ever higher states of
efficiency. The more efficient our technology, the more energy
we actually consume; not save, because the cost to reward ratio
is so positive for the consumers of this highly refined energy.
The book also point out that the competitive advantage in
manufacturing will soon be shifting decisively back toward the
U.S.: the human demand for energy will only continue to grow and
is indeed insatiable; raw fuels sources are not running out; and
America's relentless pursuit of high-grade energy does not add
chaos to the global environment but rather restores it to order.
Indeed, expanding energy supplies mean higher productivity, more
jobs, and a growing GDP. Across the board- energy isn't the
problem, energy is the solution.
While the conventional wisdom holds that energy consumption is
the problem and certainly some would disagree from an
environmental impact concerning (at lest fossil fuel) energy
consumption, The Bottomless Well argues that from an
environmental perspective it also makes sense to use energy in
an ever more efficient state. For example America, unlike most
of the poor developing countries, is a net carbon sink. That is,
despite all the pollution produced in America, there is more CO2
PPM upwind of America on the Pacific side then there is
downstream of it over the Atlantic. This fact is undisputed, but
although the book does offer some anecdotal reasons why this
might be the case there is no definitive evidence to explain
this unexpected phenomenon.
I would strongly recommend The Bottomless Well to anyone,
no matter where they might stand on the issues of energy, the
environment or politics. The book breaks the mold on many of our
conventional views of energy, how we use it and why. At very
least The Bottomless Well opens the door to another
school of thought, not to mention a healthy debate about energy
policy and our future.