The Environmental Kuznets Curve — The pundits tell us that the world’s forests are “nearly gone,” so we must “degrowth” our population and economy to save the little forestry that remains. Not only is the base premise misleading at best, but growth itself is likely the fastest path toward restoring forestry coverage worldwide. …

How private companies are making space affordable — The long-term survival of the species necessitates that we become multi-planetary. But the first step on that journey requires affordable space access; rockets that function like airliners to the heavens. We have already worked out partial rocket reuse, now the race is on for full and rapid reuse. …

How a carbon tax can solve the climate problem — In the battle against climate change, carbon taxes are a powerful and underutilized tool. By levying a cost on the negative externalities of emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, households, businesses, and innovators will be nudged toward sustainable sources of energy. …

How the “Propfan” can change air travel — In the 20th Century, commercial jets made it possible for everyday people to travel the world like never before. With each new iteration of aircraft, engineers made them progressively safer while reducing fuel consumption and emissions. But we may be approaching the limits of traditional jet engines. …

Not dystopia, not utopia, but something else — In science fiction literature, the future is usually portrayed as one of a binary set of options, a future that is either a utopia or a dystopia. But the differences between these concepts, if there are any, are not always clear. Some believe that there is also a third option…

When revolutionary ideas solve the wrong problem — About a decade ago, an innovative Chinese company known for building pre-fab skyscrapers announced its intention to build the world’s tallest building in just 90 days. Called “Sky City” the megastructure would be so large that residents would rarely need to leave, a literal city in the clouds. Its modular…

How credential inflation inhibits progress — In the discussion surrounding student loans and debt, forgiveness is often justified by claiming that a college degree no longer necessarily leads to better employment prospects or a higher-paying job. In fact, credential inflation, the twin sibling of tuition inflation, is a new paper ceiling that keeps many from fulfilling…

A comparison of how they plan to get there — Bootprints have not been left on the Moon since the early 1970s, that will soon change. With NASA’s Artemis and China’s CLEP programs both scheduled to return humans to the Moon before 2030, the two superpowers are apparently in a “race” to the Lunar surface. But this time, who gets…

Rethinking how we approach intellectual property — Intellectual Property is a subject of profound importance. The search for the proper balance between incentivizing innovation and the dispersion of new ideas has vexed many. How we design our innovation infrastructure is crucial to expanding and enriching human advancement, with implications for technological progress, economic development, and human well-being…