A Free-Market Energy Blog

Petroleum Trash to Treasure: Market Incentives Spark Human Ingenuity

By -- June 17, 2020

Editor Note: This post is by two leading scholars working in the Julian Simon, Austrian School, Institutionalist School traditions. Authors of Population Bombed!, Pierre Desrochers and Joanna Szurmak are important figures at MasterResource.

Even greater creativity and market complexity can be observed in the history of the petroleum production and refining industries. Market institutions and incentives provide the framework from which a plenitude of individuals and companies make their contribution.

Black, Black Progress

Petroleum was first sought after in western Pennsylvania in the 1850s, as it proved a more economical source of kerosene (a combustible hydrocarbon used for illumination), which had previously been produced from coal, oil shale, and bitumen. Kerosene was seen as a superior and more reliable alternative to animal and vegetable oils, the best of which were derived from sperm whales.…

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Julian Simon: High School Debaters Hear His Message

By Greg Rehmke -- June 16, 2020

“I began publishing Julian Simon’s upbeat analytical articles on the benefits of population growth…. [O]ur ‘Econ Update’ newsletter was mailed to every high school with a debate program. Julian Simon’s Ultimate Resource thus joined the battle of ideas against ‘Growth DAs’ in debate classes, clubs, and tournaments across the country.”

When I worked at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) in New York in the mid-1980s, Julian Simon used to call from time to time. Sometime he would send a letter with just a leaf inside.

High school debate was my connection to Julian Simon. 

Discovering Julian Simon

I learned about The Ultimate Resource (1981) from Andrea Rich’s Laissez-Faire Books catalog. A few years earlier, Economics in Argumentation had outsourced a debate resource guide to a former debater for the national high school debate topic.…

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GE: Contra-Capitalism’s Toll (lightbulb unit sold)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 15, 2020

“In a reset economy, the government will be a regulator; and also an industry policy champion, a financier, and a key partner.” (Jeff Immelt, GE 2008 Annual Report, quoted here)

“What else can be said about how a destructive management philosophy–long warned against by classical liberals–drove a once iconic American company into the bog? Contra-capitalism destroys wealth, not only capitalism.” (below)

A May 27, 2020, piece at EnergyWire (E&E News) reported the latest of how errant leadership, political correctness, and cronyism diminished a once proud, iconic company.

“General Electric Co. cut one of the last remaining links to founder Thomas Edison, as the beleaguered manufacturer wrapped up a three-year process to sell its iconic lightbulb business,” reported Rick Clough. The buyer was the automated ‘smart home’ firm Savant Systems Inc.…

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UK Not Really Buying Into Climate Activism

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 11, 2020
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Heart of Hawaii: Oil Powers Oahu’s Sustainable Energy Program

By David Shormann -- June 10, 2020
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LEEDCO Update: Offshore Lake Erie (Ohio) Project In Trouble in Year 11

By Sherri Lange and Suzanne Albright -- June 9, 2020
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Gov. Abbott: Ignore Professor Dessler (angry Andrew a climate catastrophist)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 8, 2020
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Paris Climate Accord Hyperbole (who’s winning now?)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 4, 2020
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Big Wind Throws in the Towel in Lapeer County, Michigan (grassroots environmentalism prevails)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- June 3, 2020
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Energy & Environmental Newsletter: June 2, 2020

By -- June 2, 2020
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