Best of Times

Because I’m gloomy about the amount of energy we’re going to need (but only because I’m afraid it’s going to come from coal), here is some good news:

• The world has never been richer than it is today
• Child mortality is falling rapidly in Africa–faster even than sought by the UN’s Millenium Goals

The cynical grinch within me wants to say that the world being richer will mean more money to spend on energy. The same demon wants to say that a growing, healthier population will increase energy consumption.

Bah! Let’s celebrate–this is the way we want it to be. When everybody is as rich as the Norwegians and child mortality goes to zero–when that happens they’ll all be as interested in our energy mix as I am. And that’s just fine.