Letters to the Editor
-
Magic fix, or...
As I like to refer to it, "silver bullet" or "magic bullet". This is an area that so many people seem to get lost on, and I'm glad is pointed out as a problem. There's a line in Jared Diamond's _Collapse_ that this makes me think of. When asked what he felt the biggest problem facing us as a species, his response was that we believe there is a *single* problem.
The above paraphrased, but I think the sentiment is correct. The basic idea is people want one-stop solutions - just take this pill and you'll be in perfect health - to any problem.
I don't know too much about Patzek's crusade, but I agree on the point that a portfolio solution seems needed. Maybe we resist the idea because that makes things complicated; maybe we resist because we can't see a way to monpolize a solution & make a bundle. Maybe it's something else - I don't know.
Regardless, that point, plus the general call to 'power down', hmm... again, I don't know enough about Patzek to know if the message is worth whatever he's doing. I doubt biofuels are completely out of our future, no matter what, but the amount they contribute to the solution seems like only a piece of the pie. That's still a piece, though.