Welcome to everyone. How
are you? How are you getting on with things? I know this is a hard time for
everyone.
I’m excited to be writing
this blog for you. One silver-lining to the
pandemic we are experiencing is the effect it has had on how we view the economy
and what is possible. We have seen energy consumption plummet and many of our
energy-intensive processes have slowed1. As put by a group of current
and former central bankers,
“This crisis offers us a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to rebuild our economy in order to withstand the next shock coming
our way: climate breakdown. Unless we act now, the climate crisis will be
tomorrow’s central scenario and, unlike Covid-19, no one will be able to
self-isolate from it.”2
The
situation is not only destruction and devastation, it is also a great time to
be looking at our topic: renewable, sustainable technologies that “keep the
lights on”. And by that I mean that they have to meet our needs.
This blog is intended for anyone with an interest in renewable energy and sustainability, although I hope to write a high proportion of posts targeted at scientists, engineers and other technically-informed individuals.
I once spoke with a
scientist developing a new farming method called agro-forestry (it’s very cool,
check it out). I found his email address and contacted him. I wanted to know:
can this method meet our populations’ food demands whilst leaving all the space
we need for housing, industry, rewilding etc. So I asked him “what is
agro-forestry’s productivity in, say, kg/hectare/yr compared with conventional
methods”. He responded that I was asking the wrong question because his method
was much more sustainable.
We will hopefully not get
distracted by idealism in this blog. We will take the approach that a solution has
only been reached once a technology meets all the requirements and reaches
economic viability. Otherwise, it will not be an instrument for reducing
emissions.
Whilst, I admit, most of
my knowledge on this matter was gained in the UK, I am really mostly occupied
with how Israel, where I live from 2021, will decarbonise. That being said, I
like to anchor my thoughts in the ways of thinking that are applicable to all
countries, and from there to focus on Israel. So, I will prefer to speak in
more general terms.
Another aspect of the
lights-on nature of this blog is that I believe that Israel is destined to be a
“light unto the nations”. Israel is a breeding ground for ambition, passion and
innovation and we can demonstrate to the world how important protecting the
natural environment, and the future of humanity, is. May we merit to see Israel
quickly transform into a clean and sustainable economic superpower, and show
the world our enormous capabilities for the betterment of the whole world.
References:
- Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/ee88c064-2fac-4a08-aad5-59188210167b
- https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/05/world-climate-breakdown-pandemic
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