What do you do when you're 85 years old and just had a pacemaker installed? Singapore Founder, Lee Kuan Yew, chose to fly to Hong Kong and say a few choice words that left us all dumbstruck. After a morning discussing renewable energy solutions with Bill Clinton and a panel of experts, I was sitting with XL Member Merrin Pearse (environmental expert) listening to Lee Kuan Yew, talking to Clinton. Clinton asked him about his view on renewable energy. LKY's answer was on the lines of "Renewable power will be insignificant to the world's needs - even if its successful it will reach 5% of our needs at the most".
He went on to explain that all earth energy came from the sun. Renewable energy came from current sun energy (solar, hydro, wind - all of it). Fossil fuels were our way of tapping into billions of years of stored sun energy and when that runs out, renewables will be a drop in the ocean in comparison.
It was at this point Merrin caught on to what LKY was saying, looked up and said "what did he say?". I did the same. If renewables could be inconsequential at best, why we were we all talking about it?! Could LKY be correct? I looked online. There it was: In 2006 ALL modern renewable sources - geothermal, wind power, solar power, and ocean energy added up to the grand sum of 0.8% of total global energy consumption. I didn't know that. Even at a growth rate of 30%+, that means in ten years it will make up all of 5% at the most...
So is LKY right? Is nuclear power the only viable alternative?
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Oh - by the way here's a bit more energy trivia: The American Petroleum Institute estimated in 1999 the world's oil supply would be depleted between 2062 and 2094, assuming total world oil reserves at between 1.4 and 2 trillion barrels and consumption at 80 million barrels per day.In 2004, total world reserves were estimated to be 1.25 trillion barrels and daily consumption was about 85 million barrels, shifting the estimated oil depletion year to 2057.
The United States Energy Information Administration predicts world consumption of oil will increase to 98.3 million barrels per day in 2015 and 118 million barrels per day in 2030.
So we've got about 50 years at the rate we're going...
(PS. The largest 'renewable' energy is old-fashioned fire wood, which makes up the bulk of 'biomass' power. I - and presumably LKY - am not counting this in the % pr renewables as biomass power is now seen as a significant net contributor to greenhouse emissions)
When you check out that Zeitgeist movie on XLWORLD (all 2 hours of it) you get a different set of numbers right near the end.
When you check out that Zeitgeist movie on XLWORLD (all 2 hours of it) you get a different set of numbers right near the end.
That's really quite frightening!
At last!
I've been waiting for some with real 'star power' to start the process of unravelling the deliberate confusion of the political environmental agenda.
Almost invariably, when Governents get on board a cause there is only one result - more regulation more control and less focus on a real solution - see carbon tradingas a env solution??? (sorry if that sounds a bit cynical).
As Roger has said numerous times, WE are the solution not Governments; our children are looking to US to solve these issues for their futures' sake, not to elected administrators.
The saddest part is how political agenda confuses and divides the 'great thinkers' who are capable of discovering and implementing solutions for global environmental sustainability.
Lets hope Lee Kuan Yew's comments open up debate on re-thinking how we all use our energy resources globally.
Gavin Jackson (Brisbane - Aust)
gavin1005@gmail.com
P.S - Also, thank you Roger for the post!!
As Bill Clinton said after Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) left the stage. Wouldn't it be great to have the mind like that at 85 and for that matter at 65, at 45 or 25!
The discussion on the end of oil and our options was really revealing and though provoking for me.
If we can solve the issue of Nuclear Power waste then it certainly could be a far more popular source of energy. Our main source of energy on Earth is of course from Nuclear Fusion Reactions through what we call the Sun.
Dr Merrin
Marcel, it does bring up the reaction of fear, doesn't it. I think that the key however is to tackle our fear in this life. Let me explain.
Fear appears to be at the heart of our quest for more. It could be considered that the more we fear, the more we expand fear and the more we create circumstances to validate our fear.
In my personal experience, fear of myself and my circumstances generates a feeling of needing to get more stuff in life. The more removed and out of center from myself, the more the paradigm suggests I grab onto something outside for a sense of stability and certainty. More fancy toys. More high cost on the environment stuff. The more fear, the more we want to consume.
Fearing the end of energy probably isn't the place to come from in order to provide the solution. Simply because I don't think its a very resourceful place to come from. And this is all about resources isn't it? Maybe we don't need nuclear energy because we simply don't need to do 90% of the things we do. Humanity is probably doing 10,000,000 times the effort simply because we fear each other and most of the time push out in different directions. We mostly want the same thing, yet every one wants to be the hero and the company that is the one who did it first.
Solving the issues is very simply a matter of coming together and realising just how much of us are doing the same thing. Pulling together our resources.
If the world is serious about change, we would dedicate at least 1 week of absolute minimal production across earth. At least 1 week because I would love to see the seismic healing crisis that would probably eventuate afterward. Ever seen what happens to a drug addict when you pull away their pipe for a few days?
We don't want to face the depression. Depression is perceived as a thing we can just take a pill for. Depression is seen as something that is wrong. And so the world keeps on pushing and pushing. Sadly most of us forget that in order to expand requires contraction. If the contraction / downtime doesn't equal the expansion / uptime how is it balance?
Here we have 6 billion people mostly pushing in different directions who actually want the same thing. Peace... a future... happiness... freedom. Yet so afraid and scattered we don't realise just how close and connected we actually are and how easy it could be. We think a new earth destroying product that looks cool in the hand will bring us closer to who we want to associate with, instead of just making pure and simple contact / touch. We dig up whole mountains to achieve what we were born with. ITs a little bit crazy.
Long story short, most of us from my perspective goto infinite lengths to achieve what is already embedded. I really don't think the solution is going to be the next technology like a power plant... the next technology the world embraces I believe will be the intangible. The feeling of joy that is already there. The feeling of love and connection.
I hope a shift of values occurs. Things like men finding it more beneficial to give their mum a back massage then to spend 1000 dollars on a mobile phone to get a glance from a girl on the street. I'm sure its not hard to see the contrast on substance and connection and benefit to society and the environment. Yet I look around and I see these sorts of activities so prevailing. Useless technologies to fill a void of genuine connection and billions of men with Mummy issues. No? :)
Thanks for your time. Say hi to your mum for me! ;)
All the power to you
Bobby
Hi Bobby - In Bali they have a day in Spring called "Nyepi" when EVERYTHING stops. Zero energy consumption. The airport closes. The roads close (They have patrols all over the island to stop anyone who drives). This is the end of the old year when they go back to zero. (Of course the next day there's a big party).
Zero consumption. No one cries. No one dies. Actually, it's quite nice.
I sat next to Stephen Roach, Chairman of Morgan Stanley, at an environmental panel. I commented "We're in a cold aircon room in our suits talking about saving energy by using energy. If we were serious, we'd go outside in the sun, take off our jackets and have a zero carbon conversation". He replied "Why is it I'm always colder in Hong Kong and Singapore than I ever am in Europe?"
If after the oil is gone, all we've got left is the sun, that may not be all that bad...
Oh - by the way, today LKY's comments caused a stir and there was much debate on the real number that renewables could reach.
The most interesting I heard was from a solar expert who defended his territory. Asked why LKY would be so adamant about nuclear, he replied "Obviously the Minister Mentor is setting up Singapore for a move to Nuclear Energy. Perhaps he sees nuclear energy being a major export for Singapore in the coming years"...
Its a big challenge. I am typing on a super computer that has more processing power than what google had combined 10 years ago. Slight overkill I realise now. I'm on a mission of talking green, highlighting the ease, yet I am contradicting myself in a way. I tell myself that I offset it because of my positive purpose. And I think we all kinda justify these damaging things we do hoping that somewhere ahead of us is this energetic golden key that lights up everything and can run it all.. I always thought that was the sun.
Then again, it appears man has tried to symbolise and recreate the sun for a long time. We love it... if only we realised that we love it for it... instead of trying to love the representation of it. Then again, you can't blame us for trying. The strangest thing has happened though in recent times... we've turned our once god of life into a demon. A cancer creator who is burning us alive. Its quite the reversal of how our ancestors thought... and I don't think the ancestors thought it was good and healthy to live under it because they were creative thinkers. Sun = life and it was just known.
We're a funny bunch humans.
I find the things we seek we have all along and it truly could be as simple as engaging in Nyepi! Its a huge start. I'm sure even just one day a year of pure freedom from an agenda to push harder than nature would have profound effects that we would feel for the rest of the year. People must surely come out of that day with a new sense of simplicity and that ease must translate into real ease in the world.
Thanks for the updates on the energy movements Roger.
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