I (w/ Lisa) had coffee this morning with Chris Flavin, president of Worldwatch Institute. He’s a sharp guy, and I was thinking, hm, I wish I had my recorder, I’d interview this dude.
But look: Worldchanging already did, just yesterday. So read that.
We mostly chit-chatted about our respective organizations, but he said a couple of intriguing things.
On biofuels, he said that right now the global market is not big enough to pose a true threat to rainforests, etc., and that several game-changing technological developments are in the works that will reduce its footprint going forward. He thinks the import tariffs are inevitably going to come down. He said if you’re worried about the loss of rainforests, worry about cattle grazing and development, and pass better land-use laws.
On nuclear, he said during the time he’s been working in energy, about 10 "nuclear revivals" have come and gone with no effect. "I’ve never lost money betting against nuclear power."
He also said the recent report on renewable energy (PDF) from Worldwatch and CAP is an attempt to get the energy/climate issue framed correctly, away from gloom and doom and technospeak and toward the notion of a national revival.
By the way, I finally got around to reading the report, and it’s fantastic — breezy, easy to read, and almost heartening enough to cause me to feel some … what do they call it? … hope.
