The 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.
Posts Tagged ‘fossil fuels’
SUSTAINABILITY, ENTROPY AND RISK
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010Why Renewable Energy Feed In Tariffs (REFITS) pay for themselves from Year 1.
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009We pointed out in the last few blogs that Feed In Tariffs were the surest way to get a new technology like wind energy deployed into a conservative sector like electricity. In simple terms the risk for the developer is greatly reduced.
Risk reducing aspects of wind energy
Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009Why the risk reducing aspects of wind energy are not more widely appreciated.
The electricity industry is a rum industry (to use an old fashioned adjective). It is the only one I know where an important, even dominant, risk as we understand it in business is mitigated by the electricity regulatory and competitive system.
Examination of the US Renewable Energy market
Thursday, July 16th, 2009Well folks, I have been out of the country on a world tour for the last four weeks, I welcome this opportunity to catch up on the latest big issues.
Carbon Capture and Storage
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009I read that Ernst & Young have brought out a carbon capture attractiveness storage index. I am surprised that a firm of its eminence (they are the auditors to Mainstream Renewable Power) would dignify carbon capture and storage with an “attractiveness index”.
Why the Lisbon Treaty?
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
In the second last blog we showed how the expectations of populations differed according to their size. In bigger populations the people expect their public representatives to deliver on policy issues whereas in small populations like Ireland there is a higher emphasis on service to the voter.
Parochialism Vs the pan-European good
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009Over the next few blogs it will be my intention to deal with the issues of democracy in general and as it is applied in Europe, with world competitiveness in the context of the major world federations i.e. China, India, United States and Europe. We will do all this in the context of the biggest issue facing our species, which is surviving and thriving and having enough energy in the post fossil fuel era.
Global Warming Revisited
Monday, March 2nd, 2009Over the past number of years we have seen examples of where numerous self interests have cast aspersions on the science of global warming.
