tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post8780881985081978405..comments2023-10-20T18:03:01.821+09:00Comments on GlobalTalk 21: What Happens in Costa Rica (Sort of) Stays in Costa RicaJun Okumurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-35780608768731758192009-04-15T16:53:00.000+09:002009-04-15T16:53:00.000+09:00Yeah, I see your point, MTC. These examples reinfo...Yeah, I see your point, MTC. These examples reinforce another argument of mine, that in journalism, literacy in the local vernacular is useful. Having said that, Friedman should have shown some common sense by recognizing that some things, like automobiles, aircraft and ships, run on fossil fuels and that their needs cannot possibly be satisfied with 5% of total energy consumption. If he can accept something like that, then his understanding of his latest favorite subject (energy, security and environment) must be appallingly shallow. I’m not sure how <I>National Geographic</I> came up with 80%.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-83565789746895906452009-04-15T16:31:00.000+09:002009-04-15T16:31:00.000+09:00Okumura-san -
Friedman blows it through a false ...Okumura-san - <br /><br />Friedman blows it through a false cognate, misunderstanding the Spanish word <I>energia</I> to mean "energy" when in the context it clearly means "power."<br /><br /><I>National Geographic</I> made the same damn mistake last year:<br /><br />http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/03/080307-costa-rica.htmlMTChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04626942240117432624noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-48922430392129743202009-04-14T16:15:00.000+09:002009-04-14T16:15:00.000+09:00Incidentally, I do like writers who can make their...Incidentally, I do like writers who can make their high dudgeons serve them well—Camille Paglia, Christopher Hitchens, and Glenn Greenwald, liberals all broadly speaking. I think that conservative writers tend to do better when they keep their cool, though Bill O’Reilly does a good job on TV at using his anger in my view.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-12854545964284577712009-04-14T16:01:00.000+09:002009-04-14T16:01:00.000+09:00No. Because they tend to become stale, predictable...No. Because they tend to become stale, predictable, and less accountable. I only write about Friedman because...okay, because he annoys me.<br /><br />In this vein, I've long marveled at what Dave Barry, Gary Larsen, and Puccini managed to do. Michael Jordan had to come back twice before he finally called it quits.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-37693903790066775072009-04-14T14:01:00.000+09:002009-04-14T14:01:00.000+09:00"You know what, perhaps each news outlet should se..."You know what, perhaps each news outlet should set a term limit on its columnists. "<br /><br />Or, you could just not read him of course. But suspect you actually crave that feeling of indignant outrage :)Jan Morenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06834641501438709866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-70289705599968863902009-04-14T10:56:00.000+09:002009-04-14T10:56:00.000+09:00You’re right, Janne. I know that I tend to gloss o...You’re right, Janne. I know that I tend to gloss over the very real resource limits (two words: China, and India) on nuclear energy; not as bad as they are with natural gas, the flavor of the moment, but it ain’t coal either. That’s where the Japanese fascination with the fast breeder reactor comes in. It’s certainly more realistic than pinning our long-term hopes on a fusion fix, but it has also been very hard going so far. Nothing is easy, I guess, which is why I find Friedman’s shallow, “you won’t believe what I just saw!” boosterism so annoying.<br /><br />You know what, perhaps each news outlet should set a term limit on its columnists. But then, with most everybody available on the Internet, maybe it doesn’t matter much anymore.Jun Okumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00291478225274759649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32776756.post-8102918344118062372009-04-13T22:13:00.000+09:002009-04-13T22:13:00.000+09:00Not to take away your greater point (as usual), bu...Not to take away your greater point (as usual), but a minor point that is often overlooked: The amount if feasibly extractable uranium is large but not infinite. Numbers I have seen are all over the place and I have not enough experience to determine which are credible, but many estimations predict uranium to stop being economically feasible before the end of the century, and most likely well before then. Some otherwise reliable people and organizations seem to be talking about 2030's to 40's as the time when demand will outstrip supply and it will become as unreliable a power source as oil is becoming today.Jan Morenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06834641501438709866noreply@blogger.com