HOW BANS FORCE INNOVATION:

As the late Julian Simon wrote in 1996 in The Ultimate Resource, need and inventiveness, or innovation, typically go hand in hand. That's why he argued against the doomsayers of the time, who were predicting resource, energy, and food shortages. That won't happen, Simon said; we'll just find new and better ways to get what we need.

Germany's embrace of wind and solar power is a good example. All the world will benefit.

As the Times put it: "By creating huge demand for wind turbines and especially for solar panels, it has helped lure big Chinese manufacturers into the market, and that combination is driving down costs faster than almost anyone thought possible just a few years ago."

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