Mark Mills on the Need for Abundant Energy and Rational Tradeoffs between Economy & Environment

In this episode of Financial Thought Exchange, host Larry Siegel interviews Mark Mills, a physicist turned energy and tech expert. Mills argues that there has never been a true energy transition, except for abandoning whale oil. Even as we pursue an energy transition, humanitycontinues to rely on traditional energy sources such as hydrocarbons, wood, even animal power. Mills criticizes the slow adoption of nuclear energy, attributing it to public fears and stringent regulation. He sees promise in new small reactor designs, such as molten salt reactors, while traditional reactor designs suffer from regulatory and technical constraints.

Mills uses the snail darter (which, it turns out, doesn't exist) as an example of environmental policy gone amuck, hindering growth. He asks that policies weigh environmental considerations against the need for economic development. Mills emphasizes the need for affordable energy to support technologies like air conditioning in developing nations, noting that only increased wealth and advanced technology can achieve the resilience against climate challenges that we need.