“… as fossil fuel use declines….” Magical energy Thinking in Print
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- April 6, 2026
“The academic community is vastly overbuilt. And perhaps no area more than the climate intelligentsia. It is ‘publish or perish’, with anti-fossil-fuel research being the narrative of the day.”
Working from false assumptions has sunk a million intellectual ships. One example is an article in Science by Emily Grubert and Joshua Lappen, Fossil Energy Minimum Viable Scale (2026). As summarized by Renée LaReau, also with the University of Notre Dame:
As the world shifts toward renewable energy sources, some experts warn that a lack of planning for the retirement of fossil fuels could lead to a disorderly and dangerous collapse of existing systems that could prolong the transition to green energy….
The researchers introduced the concept of “minimum viable scale,” a threshold of production below which a fossil fuel system can no longer function safely or economically. They provided examples of vulnerabilities in three major sectors [refining, natural gas transmission, and coal mining].
Unseen infrastructural threats to safety and decarbonization may arise as fossil energy systems are phased out
https://www.masterresource.org/central-planning-climate/fossil-fuel-decline-central-planning/
