Economy

The Economic Superorganism

December 17, 2020

As the energy transition proceeds and the world takes more aggressive steps to curb global warming, analysts from many disciplines are questioning how economic growth can be maintained, or if there are limits to growth—a concept first raised in the 1970s—that will also limit the progression of energy transition. Will we run into fundamental limits on resources and debt? Or can human ingenuity and technological innovation continue to overcome any limits we encounter?

These two narratives—techno-realism and techno-optimism—compete for our attention and argue for very different trajectories of energy transition. In this episode, we speak with researcher and author Carey King about his new book, The Economic Superorganism, which explores the scientific and rhetorical basis of the competing narratives both within and between energy technology and economics.

Guest:Dr. Carey W. King performs interdisciplinary research related to how energy systems interact within the economy and environment as well as how our policy and social systems can make decisions and tradeoffs among these often competing factors. The past performance of our energy systems is no guarantee of future returns, yet we must understand the development of past energy systems.  Carey’s research goals center on rigorous interpretations of the past to determine the most probable future energy pathways.

Carey is  Research Scientist at The University of Texas at Austin and Assistant Director at the Energy Institute. He also has appointments within the Jackson School of Geosciences and the McCombs School of Business. He has both a B.S. with high honors and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. He has published technical articles in the academic journals Ecological Economics, Environmental Science and TechnologyEnvironmental Research LettersNature GeoscienceEnergy PolicySustainability, and Ecology and Society. He has also written commentary for American Scientist and Earth magazines as well as major newspapers such as the The Hill, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, and Austin American-Statesman.

On Twitter: @CareyWKing

On the Web:  Carey King’s website

Recording date: November 9, 2020

Air date: December 9, 2020

Geek rating: 7

 

Teaser photo credit: Lion’s Mane Jellyfish By W.carter – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80379553

Chris Nelder

Chris is an energy analyst, journalist, and investor, who consults and lectures on energy investing and policy. During a decade of studying energy, he has written two books on investing and energy Profit from the Peak and Investing in Renewable Energy, as well as over 900 blog posts and articles.

Tags: energy transition, limits to growth, superorganism