As I look forward to another new year, I’m reflecting
back on what I have accomplished not only in the past year but in my 60+ years
advocating for a clean sustainable environment.
There have been so many battles confronting an enormous range of
ignorance, greed, and stupidity, but in the end, I feel I have achieved a lot
of what I struggled to do. I have
continued to learn so much and have always pushed to educate and inform a great
variety of people. My main goal over the past 30+ years has been to increase awareness
that Hydrogen is the key element in our renewable energy future, and
that nuclear power is ethically, morally, and economically wrong.
I have reached a point where I no longer have to fight
for the acceptance of many of my ideas, so for now I am going to step back a
bit from my manic and frenzied daily reading and research, and trying to keep
up with what is going on around the world right now. Mainly, I am overwhelmed by the exponential
amounts of information forthcoming on the development and commercialization of
Hydrogen all over the world, which is still in its infancy, and the growth of
renewables in all sectors of our economy.
So here are a few predictions for the future that I stand by, and
probably comment on in the future.
Hydrogen will eventually surpass fossil fuels as the
major energy carrier, in all aspects of our technology and economy. The majority of Hydrogen will be “green” and come
from a variety of renewable energy technologies. Other technologies will also
play an appropriate role.
Nuclear power will continue its amazing hoax, sucking
up billions of dollars for the development and supposed deployment of a wide
range of reactors, which will not compete in the Hydrogen economy. Fusion is now the latest buzz, and though we may
eventually build a fusion power plant, its infrastructure cost will be untenable.
What people don’t realize is that a fusion reactor does not create
electricity. The tremendous amount of
heat produced will be used to boil water for steam-turbine generation. Again, it’s like using a chainsaw to cut
butter. There is a lot of money to be
made in this hugely complex and inappropriate technology, and it plays on the
ignorant fact that it promises a simple solution to our energy problems. People are ignorant and gullible and want to
hear that.
Solar energy will continue to mature on many fronts,
and new developments and improvements will provide us with a cleaner,
affordable, and sustainable energy future.
The biggest issue is not producing enough electricity, but relying on a
massive antiquated grid to move that electricity to where it is needed.
Microgrids and minigrids will blossom, offering more use of local renewables
and a range of storage options that are cheaper and environmentally sensitive.
With climate change now visibly upon us, we will be
forced to take more serious actions to slow down its mind-boggling impacts. The changes we see today will only continue
and will get worse. Water quality will
be one of the next major challenges, as well as food production, social
injustice, migration, massive infrastructure repair and upgrade, and a
degrading of the quality of life for many.
The escalating cost of paying for the damages from
climate change, and preparing for the necessary improvements and protections
for our infrastructure will only compound all issues. Greed, inequality,
power plays, wars, lies and misinformation, and basically what I’ve said all
along, ignorance and stupidity, do not portray a very optimistic future. I have talked with a lot of people, some of who I
consider to be intelligent and in position to understand what is really going
on, who have in general disappointed me with their ignorance, shallowness, and apathy. The world and its issues are so complex
that it is easy to just let “them…the experts” take care of things.
So, I am stepping down a bit from trying to change the
world, and do what I can in my community; but I pass the torch on to the younger
generation and hope they will take positive and sane actions. We are not doomed; we are not
destroying the environment; but the changes we have created will continue to threaten
all aspects of civilization as we know it today. Does the butterfly in the Amazon (forest)
really have any impact on the migration of millions of refugees?
I am grateful for who I am and for all the things I
have done. This may be my last blog for
a while (I know that sounds easy) and I will continue to play the fiddle while
the world burns (much harder), and acknowledge that my life’s work has been on
the right side of history.
Happy New Year!!!!
