Paul Krugman and the Limits of Hubris

Richard Heinberg responds to economist Paul Krugman’s New York Times op-ed from October 7th, Slow Steaming and the Supposed Limits to Growth.  

“Let’s get real. The Earth is a bounded sphere, and the human economy is an engine that extracts raw materials and produces waste. If we keep that engine’s operation within the bounds of what our planet can absorb or replenish through its normal ecosystem functions, all is well. But if the economy continues to grow year after year, at some point the planet’s systems will be overwhelmed—even if we’re using renewable energy to extract and transform raw materials.”