Economics of Sustainable Energy

Co-written by a pioneer of the sustainability movement, this groundbreaking volume offers a new way of thinking about the economics of sustainable energy, a goal that has eluded scientists and economists for decades.

Every year, as soon as reports on global economic inequality remind us about the direction our civilization is heading, there is a hysterical reaction, but hysteria dies down within weeks and we go back to the lifestyle that brought us here today. Often the blame is laid on the Millennial generation for their "apathy," "lust for comfort," and "bratty" attitude. Yet, business insider surveys indicate it's the same Millennial generation that overwhelmingly cares for the state of the world and the direction in which our civilization is heading. Nearly 50% of them ranked climate change and destruction of nature as their primary concern. This is followed by concern for war and global conflict, and then global economic inequality. The vast majority of those surveyed are willing and eager to make lifestyle changes. This book breaks open the hypocrisy of our civilization and stops the blame game in its tracks and identifies the root causes of today's world economy, ecology, and global politics.

The book demonstrates that changes in lifestyle are necessary but not sufficient. No economic policy or technology development mode has a chance to survive, let alone thrive unless supported by the political establishment. In this process, the government plays a pivotal role. The challenge is to change the attitude of the government from a 'self-serving' controlling mode to a representative philanthropic mode. This new system of economic development and political governance is inspired by a long-forgotten understanding of political economics: medieval Islamic economics. In reviewing the history of economics from trade, currencies, and interest, the strengths and weaknesses of various economic developments over our centuries are evaluated. Based on the historical analysis, a step by step procedure is outlined for this fundamental change in our society today. As a whole, this book is the first in the modern era to offer such a comprehensive analysis, complete with solutions to the entire crisis of today's civilization.

Autorentext

Jaan S. Islam is a research associate at Emertec Research and Development Ltd. and graduate student and SSHRC scholar at the University of British Columbia. He has written several books and articles in the field of political science and economics, focusing on the economics of energy and sustainability. M. R. Islam, Ph.D. is the President of Emertec Research and Development Ltd. and an adjunct Professor at Dalhousie University, where he was Canada's first Killam Chair in petroleum engineering during 2000-2005. One of the world's most well-known engineers spearheading the push towards sustainability in energy engineering, he has written dozens of books, hundreds of journal articles, and is known as one of the most prolific and well-respected petroleum engineers in the world. In the 30+ years of his professional career, Professor Islam has held faculty positions with seven different universities and supervised over 150 research students and post-doctoral fellows, and he has been and continues to be on the editorial boards of a number of scientific journals. Meltem Islam is a research associate with Emertec Research and Development Ltd. She received a BSc in Econometrics and an additional degree in Insurance as well as Masters in Education (Mount St. Vincent University, Canada). M.A.H. Mughal is a prominent philanthropist, author, speaker, mentor and a business consultant in the areas of strategy, innovation and sustainability. As a senior executive in the banking & finance industry, he has designed and led transformation programs. He has served on the Board of Directors of various companies including Emertec.

Inhalt
Preface

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Opening Remarks 1

1.2 Research Questions Asked 4

1.2.1 What is the Natural State of an Economy? 4

1.2.2 What is the Current State of Economy? 6

1.2.3 What are the Reasons Behind the Current State of Economy? 7

1.2.4 What is the Current State of Technology Development? 7

1.2.5 What is the Current Status of Energy Management? 8

1.2.6 Are Natural Resources Finite and Human Needs Infinite? 8

1.2.7 How Would a Model Economic System Look Like? 9

1.2.8 Is Sustainable Petroleum Technology Possible? 10

1.2.9 What Role the Government Should Play 10

2 Delinearized History of Economics and Energy 13

2.1 Introduction 13

2.2 The European Tract of Economics History 14

2.3 Transition of Money 39

2.4 The Nature Science Tract of Economics History 49

2.5 Connection to Energy 63

3 The Incompatibility of Conventional Economic Analysis Tools with Sustainability Models 69

3.1 Introduction 69

3.2 Current Economic State of the World 74

3.2.1 Economic Extremism 75

3.2.2 Paradoxical Economy in the Era of Artificial 83

3.3 The Status of the Money God 94

3.4 The Current Economic Models 97

3.4.1 Conflation Between External Beauty and Truth 99

3.4.2 Misplaced 'Faith' in Aphenomenal Theories 100

3.4.3 The Antithesis of Prophecy of the Doom 107

3.5 The Illogicality of Current Theories 110

3.6 The Delinearized History of Modern Economics 111

3.6.1 The Source of the Economics Track 123

3.6.2 Most Influential Economists of Modern Era 127

3.6.2.1 Adam Smith (17231790) 128

3.6.2.2 Karl Marx (18181883) 128

3.6.2.3 John Maynard Keynes 18831946 128

3.6.2.4 Alfred Marshall 18421924 (by Pareto, Jevons, Bentham) 129

3.6.2.5 Milton Friedman 19122006 (influenced by Alfred Marshal) 132

3.6.2.6 Jan Tinbergen 19031994 133

3.6.2.7 John Forbes Nash, Jr. 1928Present 133

3.6.2.8 Muhammad Yunus 1940Present 136

3.6.2.9 Warren Buffett 1930Present 142

3.6.2.10 Joseph Stiglitz (influenced by Keynes) 142

3.6.2.11 Paul Robin Krugman (influenced by Keynes, Stiglitz) 142

3.6.3 The Role of Government 147

3.7 The Transition of Robotization 153

3.7.1 The Cause of the Great Depression: Inequality and Deregulation 167

3.8 Yellow Gold vs. Black Gold 171

3.9 How Science and Economics Mimic the Same Aphenomenality 175

3.9.1 Sources of Unsustainability 176

Notes 177

4 State-of-the Art of Current Technology Development 179

4.1 Introduction 179

4.2 Denaturing for a Profit 182

4.3 Aphenomenal Theories of the Modern Era 186

4.3.1 Conservation of Mass and Energy 186

4.3.2 Other Theories and 'Laws' 189

4.3.3 The Consequences 195

4.4 The Sugar Culture and Beyond 198

4.5 The Culture of the Artificial Sweetener 203

4.6 Delinearized History of Saccharin® and the Money Trail 211

4.7 The Culture of Aspartame 219

4.7.1 Delinearized History of Aspartame 221

4.7.2 Timeline 223

4.7.3.1 Phenylalanine 238

4.7.3.2 Aspartic Acid 239

4.7.3.3 Methanol 240

4.7.3.4 DKP 242

4.8 The Honey-Sugar-Saccharin-Aspartame Degradation in Everything 243

4.9 Assessing the Overall Performance of a Process 248

4.9.1 The Process of Standardization 251

4.9.2 Natural Ranking Process 253

4.9.3 A New Approach to Economic Analysis 258

5 Comprehensive Analysis of Energy Sustainability 263

5.1 Introduction 263

5.2 Sustainability in the Information Age and Environmental Insult 265

5.2.1 Agriculture and Development 267

5.2.2 Desertification 267

5.2.3 Ecosystem Change 267 5.2.4 Fisheries 2...