Plenty of Coal . . . But Last Coal Mine
“The last deep-pit coal mine in the U.K. plans to shut its doors here next week, heralding the end of a centuries-old industry that helped fuel the industrial revolution and build the British Empire.”
–“England Closes Its Last Coal Mine“; The Wall Street Journal (12/11/2015)
With the supply of carbon-based energy (oil, natural gas, etc.) at record highs, and prices plumbing multi-year lows, it’s worth revisiting the famous dictum about technological progress.
Namely, “the Stone age came to an end not for a lack of stones.”
Slightly less famous — but more relevant for today — is the back half of that statement: “the oil age will end, but not for a lack of oil.”
The speaker?
Former OPEC minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani (he should know).
