Month: January 2026

It is fascinating to watch how economics and engineering respond to the supply/demand interactions over time.  The oil industry has always been characterized by boom-bust cycles.  New resources are discovered, prices plummet, demand rises, and supply shortages push prices higher.

Rich resources are eventually depleted, constraining supply and driving up prices; engineers then develop enhanced recovery methods.  One of the most significant of these in the past few decades, known as fracking, combines horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing of the resource itself, both of which enable higher extraction rates from a given resource area.

Our EPA has, of course, been watching this evolution, and environmentalists have always had concerns about this process.  Well, they now have very good reasons to object: America’s Biggest Oilfield Fracking is a Mess

So, what will this do now?  It is clearly a mess.  It will undoubtedly raise prices.  There may even be political reactions of almost any conceivable type. 

One reaction is that this should be a wake-up call to once again think about the future of our dependence on oil, which seems to have diminished under the current administration.  “Drill baby drill” can’t be the correct response.

Another reaction is to deny the importance of the consequences until we get something akin to the groundwater pollution problems exposed in the movie Erin Brockovich.  While good theatre, you all remember how hard it was to stop Pacific Gas and Electric in that portrayal.  Fighting big oil at this time would seem to be an uphill battle, even if it were clear we had all the proof needed to win the argument.

What we should be seeing here is the realization that an extractive mindset always leads to bad outcomes.  These are limited natural resources.  We are not making more oil, and the idiotic idea that we can grow crops to replace our dependence upon oil only moves the problems to another area.

It also does not matter that the planet’s population may not increase much from this point on.  We already have too many people, and those in less fortunate areas want what we have … and there won’t be enough to go around for much longer.

At some point, we must admit that we can’t engineer our way out of the problem.  That includes ruling out fusion.  Remember that 97% of the scientific community agrees with their funders.  The joke within that community is that fusion is 50 years away from reality and always will be.  Plus, for those of you who want to point to our sun as proof this is feasible, please consider what we already know about the Sun’s damage to our world:

• Solar flares release intense bursts of radiation that can disrupt communication systems on Earth.
• Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can send charged particles toward Earth, potentially damaging satellites and power grids.
• Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun can cause skin cancer and other health issues in humans.
• High-energy particles from solar storms can pose risks to astronauts in space.
• The sun’s heat can contribute to climate change, leading to extreme weather events.

Prolonged exposure to solar radiation can degrade materials and structures on Earth.  So, you want this as our answer to our future energy needs??

We are now in a truly fracking mess.

Have you noticed that most people parking in handicapped spots these days are as mobile as anyone else?  Well, this abuse has now spread to other inconveniences, most notably boarding airplanes.  Perhaps it is just natural that people take advantage of almost everything these days. But this brazen level of this abuse is stunning.

Where has the sense of morality gone?  The Wall Street Journal has a great article on the boarding process of airlines: Miraculous Healing aboard Modern Aircraft 

“If the airport is packed and you don’t want to wait in line, act injured and ask for a wheelchair.”  This Jetway Jesus ruse isn’t going over well with other travelers, especially people with disabilities and those who have paid extra for priority boarding. A healthcare worker from Tampa, Fla., was on a flight to Los Angeles in October where around 15 people needed a wheelchair to board and only five of them needed it on the other side. “That’s some good healing right there!” she said.

My previous blogs highlighted interpersonal abuse with phones, texts, and driving behaviors.  What is going on?  Is it a sense of entitlement or more about cleverness? 

My take is that, just like people will not give up their seat to the elderly, it is just another form of self-centeredness like that millennial interview in last week’s blog.  After all, where did she get the right to think her employer would not hold her to the same standards as the other employees?

Don’t get me wrong, I also meet some wonderful youngsters who clearly live by the same standards we were brought up to uphold.  It is just a bit unsettling to see the emergence of so many who only seem concerned about what’s in it for themselves.

Clearly, these individuals are not followers of the Jesus who spoke so often about putting others ahead of ourselves.  The only explanation I can come up with is that we are observing the collapse of good parenting models coupled with a propensity to give everyone participation trophies rather than hold excellence up as desirable.  

Watch for these miraculous healing results the next time you fly.