Energy Transition Engineering

How dare they cast doubt on the sanctity of Renewable Energy? Why am I feeling like this about that movie? I have been asked by a LOT of people what I thought of Planet of the Humans ? Of course the movie has its story to tell and its own perspective that makes it interesting - it is a movie. The facts about renewable energy weren't off the mark. I don't know about the implied corporate handshake of our esteemed environmental leaders. I have only worked with Richard Heinberg, and have found him to be straight up. What it is that is disturbing for people is that their perspective is being shifted. You find out about climate change and climate destruction and you get over your shock and horror and denial, and then you want to bargain. You want to save the world. We will be good. We will use only good energy. We need wind and solar. We are good pe ople. And so the narrative is formed and the story begins to become impervious to facts.  You can find a talk that I...

Somebody asked me, is COVID-19 a symptom or a cure? What is wrong with us? Symptoms of Consumer Atrophe Warehouse & Westfield Closed – indicates downshift in consumption of non-essential consumer items by consumers Cruise Ships, Air Travel, Tourist Operations Closed – indicates downshift in consumption of commodity tourism for non-essential purposes by consumers Supply Chain & Manufacturing Closed – indicates downshift in consumption of primary commodities which feed into the non-essential consumer vehicles, appliances, furniture, clothing for consumers Suspension of Rent, Mortgage and Credit Repayment Demands – indicates an emerging awareness of the debt slavery status of most consumers Kids Riding Scooters in the Street – indicates a re-allocation of the biggest consumer misallocation of resources of all time Prognosis for Recovery Welfare emergency payments for consumers will be used...

Transition Engineering - what is it you are really doing?  The answer is the same as for any engineering discipline - we make things work. What works totally depends on your perspective. Perspective Since 1950, and the end of the devastating world wars, making things work meant growth. Growth was the way to keep running ahead of that dark beast in the rear view mirror - The Great Depression and his nasty minions - bank failure, hyperinflation, unemployment, scarcity and hunger. We have been looking in the rear-view mirror so much that we have become future blind, letting the headlight dim until the way ahead is only a dark space bounded by ghostly converging white lines. I have a theory that “perspective shift” is key at this time for everyone.  If you've been looking behind, turn around and look ahead, slow down, and turn up the high beams. If you already get the climate science and the urgent need for action, then you need to shift your perspective ...

A bit of history Economics is a social and political understanding of production, distribution and consumption of goods and the roles of prices and policies in ensuring that production and distribution are sufficient to meet consumption and to generate wealth. Before the industrial revolution, the main issues were managing the use of common land and water, and fairness in the marketplace. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274 AD) was a philosopher but wrote some arguments about the responsibility for businesses to establish just prices. In the 17 th and 18 th Centuries, economic thought reflected the dominance of agriculture as the source of wealth, and ownership of productive land by the aristocracy. In this view of economics, the labor of workers is related to the value of things workers produce. The American Revolution and the French Revolution coincided with new economic ideas about free markets and production. Adam Smith (1723-1790) made the well-known invisible hand argument, that ...