Nobody, of course, is opposed to efficiency. In Europe in the late 1700s, Count Rumford improved heating efficiency with his famous Rumford fireplace, improved cooking efficiency by inventing the outdoor grill seen in national parks, and improved heat retention by the use of tightly woven fabrics. The Franklin stove, invented in the same era, was more efficient than the Rumford fireplace, and both are markedly inferior to modern wood-burning stoves. Fiberglass and Styrofoam are strictly modern inventions. It is precisely because of steadily increasing efficiency that US citizens use only about 3.5 times as much energy annually per capita as our forbears in 1800.
Cartoon characters can always reach into their pockets and pull out anything they want.
The difference between APS News and Rousseau is that Rousseau recognized that the princess was thoughtless. Let the developing countries use the sunbeams and chicken manure they've always had. Anything less would be uncivilized. The Energy Advocate 1997. All rights reserved.