When pondering whether we need to invest in energy efficiency, a smart grid, new storage technologies, or transmission to the best renewable energy resource areas, I urge interested parties to first take some time to watch TV. Specifically, this presentation given by Saul Griffith, MacArthur Genius at the Long Now Foundation:
He calculated what’s needed to, in the eloquent words of James Hansen, keep the world we evolved in. The answer? Cut each individual’s carbon footprint to the bone via serious lifestyle choices. Then, dedicate an area the size of Australia to renewable energy production. And do so in the next 25 years.
It’s not an either/or proposition. We need it all.
Slides available on Griffith’s blog, here.
