Jim Cowan's Industrial Timeline

Jim Cowan's Industrial Timeline

Most of humanity is alive today because of industrial progress, as the carrying capacity of the planet was substantially lower before the technological mastery of nature achieved largely in the last 300 years. Based on the implications of physics alone, it is likely that we have exited the steep part of this growth, at least by the conventional measures of energy consumption per capita. Man’s future technological progress will depend on doing more with the same or declining gross resources, and the information age we are currently experiencing is the perfect setting for these optimization efforts. The much-heralded “dematerialization” of the information age is enabled by the reality that few in advanced economies need worry much about their basic material needs.

Jim Cowan has lived through much of this progress, born in a small town in West Texas without running water or indoor bathrooms for much of his childhood. During his career, he worked his way up from rig mechanic to maintenance manager for one of the world’s largest oil drilling companies. His timeline recognizes those who mastered nature for the benefit of their fellow human beings, often in obscurity. It is a valuable resource for anyone interested in science, industrial history, technology or engineering and tells the story of man’s material struggle and triumph on God’s good Earth.

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” was the judgment given to man in the Genesis narrative. That we all sweat much less than we used to for our daily bread is evidence of our debt to the Promethean individuals who brought forth the world of abundance we enjoy today. Jim’s work is helpful in reminding us of the many blessings we enjoy in this tumultuous, but, in comparison our ancestors’ struggles, truly golden age. May we not take our material abundance for granted, nor waste the luxury of leisure, but rather be worthy descendants of those giants on whose shoulders we stand.