{
  "id": 6270543,
  "title": "No Doing, No Learning",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/no-doing-no-learning",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-08T11:16:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Marginal Revolution",
    "slug": "marginal-revolution",
    "url": "https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2026/09/no-doing-no-learning.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Raising gasoline prices incites anger from consumers, but when regulations obstruct an industry's ability to even emerge, individuals often remain oblivious to the loss they sustain. This scenario is evident in the evolution of nuclear power. Early U.S. demonstration reactors enjoyed a 81% reduction in construction costs between 1954 and 1968. However, costs surged by 187% for reactors initiated between 1967 and 1972. Subsequent regulatory decisions in 1971 and reactions to the 1979 Three Mile Island incident further exacerbated the situation, slowing construction efforts even more. The issue arose not from the accident itself, but from the trajectory of learning and deployment that transpired years prior. A 2017 study by Peter Lang in Energies suggests that, had nuclear power's previous trends persisted, its cost by 2015 would have been roughly one-tenth of its actual price. The resulting additional electricity generation could have potentially averted up to 9.5 million premature fatalities. This loss, while immense, remained largely unnoticed - a silent graveyard of what could have been.\n\nIn the 1980s, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was amended to regulate engineered microbes. The EPA's approach to microbes, classifying them as \"new\" whenever DNA from another genus is introduced, has hindered progress. Researchers submitted over 240 applications between 1987 and 2018, yet only a few were granted for widespread usage. Potential breakthroughs, such as microbes capable of detecting buried explosives, extracting rare-earth metals, or enhancing plastic-digesting enzymes, remain unrealized. Similar to nuclear power, Chernia et al. assert that genetically modified microbes (GMMs) hold immense societal benefits, yet regulatory hurdles impede their widespread utilization. Currently, GMMs are primarily tested in agriculture and environmental cleanup, with limited commercial applications.\n\nThe primary issue lies in the inadequacy of government regulations to keep pace with modern genetic engineering techniques. As a result, promising societal benefits are stifled. Fewer than ideal first iterations are often approved, preventing the emergence of superior, fifth-generation products. This cycle of inadequate approval potentially led to the stagnation of numerous promising technologies. Nuclear power, despite its shortcomings, at least offered tangible examples of what was lost. In contrast, the realm of microbes remains largely invisible, with no public debates or votes to shed light on the issue. The regulatory approach of treating microbes as mere chemicals has perpetuated this oversight, despite being overly broad and economically burdensome. The question arises: Are there other hidden losses in technology that may be concealed within the Federal Register?",
  "summary": "A regulation that raises gasoline prices makes people angry but when regulation prevents an industry from ever existing, most people never learn what they lost. Consider nuclear power. Overnight construction costs for early U.S. demonstration reactors fell 81 percent between 1954 and 1968. For reactors begun between 1967 and 1972, costs rose 187 percent. The […] The post No Doing, No Learning…",
  "key_points": [
    "Early U.S. nuclear reactors saw 81% cost reduction 1954-1968",
    "Regulatory decisions 1971, Three Mile Island slowed construction",
    "Genetically modified microbes face regulatory hurdles"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}