“I will ban fracking—everywhere.”— Elizabeth Warren ………….. The extraction of oil and gas through the techniques of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (colloquially, “fracking”) has catapulted the United States into leadership of the world’s energy markets. Since 2007, fracking has doubled U.S. oil production and increased gas production by 60%
The centerpiece of the “new energy economy” thesis rests on the belief that the technologies of wind, solar power and battery storage are undergoing the kind of disruption experienced in computing and communications. But this core analogy glosses over profound physics differences between systems that produce energy and those that produce information.
The U.S. is now the world’s fastest-growing producer of natural gas, and it is on track to becoming the dominant world exporter. Meanwhile, the number of nations importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) has jumped from a dozen to more than 40 in the past two decades… [Click title to open PDF]
It has been said that data is the new oil. Both domains are critical to society, entailing massive infrastructures and globe-spanning businesses. Of course oneproduces energy, while the other uses it. It may seem inconceivable that a single smartphone is responsible for as much electricity demand as a refrigerator, but that’s what the physics dictates. This…
