This week, I have been visiting South Africa to promote the many benefits of why renewable energy will be hugely beneficial to South Africa’s energy mix.
Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category
South Africa visit
Friday, August 20th, 2010Funding Europe’s future
Friday, July 30th, 2010Last week in this column I spoke about the Supergrid and how it will bring revolutionary change to Europe in terms of the free trade of electricity, security of supply, clean sustainable energy and so on. That it will create a leading global position for Europe in the transition to a low carbon economy.
Grids, grids, my kingdom for the Supergrid
Monday, July 26th, 2010Once off transition to sustainability
This world of ours is on a once off transition to sustainability. Over three centuries its population will have moved from 600 million to 9.2 billion. There is no rule stipulating that the resources which were adequate in the past will be sufficient for the future. There are many basic raw materials whose abundance cannot be assumed for the future. Oil is depleting rather rapidly, water is becoming scarce in many regions. Metals such as platinum, lithium and phosphorous are scarce.
Climate Deniers
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010While addressing KPMG in Ireland last week I paid tribute to the climate deniers who did such a magnificent job of telling the big lie before Copenhagen last year.
SUSTAINABILITY, ENTROPY AND RISK
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010The world is on a once off transition to sustainability. I often ask myself the question: what does sustainability mean? For me it is ultimately about humans being able to grow, thrive and ultimately leave Earth to colonise elsewhere. It is about civilization and its ongoing ability to provide a societal mode of behaviour based on for instance the values best expressed by Confucious. We in the West have evolved a fine civilisation emanating from the ancient Greeks but refined by the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount and the lessons learned from a history of conflict.
Supergrid
Friday, April 30th, 2010I would like to return to a subject that I have often spoken about before. The subject is the Supergrid. Those who are familiar with my history over the past eight years will know that I consider this issue to be one of the most important. What I had not realized until very recently is just how relevant the Supergrid is right now.
Wind: The cheapest solution for electricity generation in South Africa
Friday, February 12th, 2010Continuation of the theme that wind and other renewable power sources reduce the cost of providing an electricity service.
Renewables are expensive, we all know that
Thursday, January 21st, 2010Mr. Brian Dames the COO of Generation in South Africa’s ESKOM said that “renewables are expensive, we all know that. We are a moderate wind country and we will exploit that”.
A record of change
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009There are many books and articles written on the management of change. I myself have had to participate in and to lead change in organisations. It is never easy. The most commonly heard phrase is “that fellow over there really needs to change, me, I’m ok.” Since biblical times it has always been easier to remove the mote from one’s neighbour’s eye than remove the beam from my own shoulder.
Climate Summit at Copenhagen:
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009The following quote is from one of the documents I receive every day, “Nopenhagen, fiascopenhagen, slowpenhagen, COP out, flop COP, bad COP, the great disappointment. Call it what you will, but under no reasonable interpretations did the climate conference in Copenhagen (COP15) end as a success.”
