Staying on Top of the Energy Debate
Published on 19 Apr 2007 at 12:58 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Climate, Energy, Entrepreneurship, Solutions.
We are now at an important point in human history. We have developed to the point where we are “de-terraforming the Earth” by burning vast quantities of fossil fuels. There is no debate here, as we know how much the CO2 level in the atmosphere is rising and we know how much coal and oil we burn. The correlation is a no-brainer.
To make matters more urgent, humanities fuel consumption is growing at a fantastic rate, and we are within 20 years or so of reaching the peak in energy production. Things are going to change whether we like it or not, and right now we are at the point where we can still control how it will change. But this situation wont last for long.
What is most fascinating to me is that businesses stand a lot to gain from this change. Intelligent entrepreneuers have the opportunity to start new businesses and watch them grow at exponential rates (for a time, since nothing can grow exponentially forever). However, our version of capitalism has become lazy, and those who want to make money by just doing what they have been doing for decades are fighting this change.
But now is the time for wise investors to be on the lookout for that new business that promotes self-sufficiency in energy production, or independence from fossil fuels, or methods for carbon sequestration.
I have found a nice website called Energy Bulletin that collects articles on the future of energy from a wide array of authors. For instance, three articles that caught my eye were:
1. “Wanna bet the farm on carbon capture and sequestration?” which discusses how carbon sequestration is going to happen like it or not.
2. “Gore stays cool on the hot seat” which discusses the current debate in Congress on Global Warming and Energy.
3. “You are now entering an oil-free zone” which discusses how “transition towns” are appearing in the UK that are moving away from reliance on oil.
Last, by shunning oil, foreign interests in the Middle East will decline, which will be good for everyone.
Kevin Knuth
Albany NY
Til on 28 Apr 2007 at 8:07 pm: 1
Hi Professor Knuth,
have you seen these 2 spots? Not so up-to-date, but still funny (or sad?)
http://www.cei.org/pages/co2.cfm