There’s a new scientific paper out in the journal Nature called “Approaching a state shift in Earth’s biosphere.” In a sane world, it would be front page news. This is from the abstract:

Localized ecological systems are known to shift abruptly and irreversibly from one state to another when they are forced across critical thresholds. Here we review evidence that the global ecosystem as a whole can react in the same way and is approaching a planetary-scale critical transition as a result of human influence. [my emphasis]

As examples of past global state shifts, the authors cite the Cambrian explosion (“a conversion of the global ecosystem from one based almost solely on microbes to one based on complex, multicellular life,” which took a comparatively brief 30 million years), the Big Five mass extinctions, and the last glacial-interglacial transition, which started about 14 thousand years ago.

http://grist.org/climate-energy/were-about-to-push-the-earth-over-the-brink-new-study-finds/

energy reality. consumerism. sustainability. mhm.

We’ve got along way to go.

join the discussion jpinfluence.com

Because every now and then dealing with the world’s problems, you need a reminder of how great we are, how great we can be. Keep the faith.

3. This picture of two Norwegian guys rescuing a sheep from the ocean.

EDITORIAL: The Sublimation of American Energy: An Unexpected Transition to a New Global Energy Paradigm

Energy Information Administration - 2010 Suppliers

19 June 2012 Leave a comment

Hydraulic fracturing. Shale gas. Tight oil. Boom-Time. Golden Era.

There is a growing excitement about this moment, and the potential future, of energy coming out of the United States. Natural gas and oil production in the US are experiencing significant increase, and the global energy system receives a new layer and new potential.

…

Does the US need a national energy policy?

14 June 2012 · by Jesse Parent · in General Commentary.

I was recently asked the question – and thought it deserves some unpacking. I think the underlying challenge to a having a stable and coherent grand energy strategy is the lack of coherence about what we want our future to look like, and what factors are actually influencing it. If we want a future reality, we need to be informed and have no illusions about what our current reality is – and understand the transition needed to get from ‘now’ to ‘desired future’. To this end, I again state that we need a to go along with a national energy policy. Whether it comes from grassroots or top down, the dialogue needs to take place so people understand what the choices are, and what the factors are guiding those choices – choices about where the energy we use comes from, it’s environmental and economic impact, as well as how it shapes the future of our country and world.

"Does the US need a national energy policy?"

I was recently asked the question - and thought it deserves some unpacking. I think the underlying challenge to a having a stable and coherent grand energy strategy is the lack of coherence about what we want our future to look like, and what factors are actually influencing it. If we want a future reality, we need to be informed and have no illusions about what our current reality is – and understand the transition needed to get from ‘now’ to ‘desired future’. To this end, I again state that we need a ‘national energy dialogue’ to go along with a national energy policy. Whether it comes from grassroots or top down, the dialogue needs to take place so people understand what the choices are, and what the factors are guiding those choices – choices about where the energy we use comes from, it’s environmental and economic impact, as well as how it shapes the future of our country and world. …

http://theenergycollective.com/jesse-parent/87121/does-us-need-national-energy-policy

COMMENT: ‘The 21st Century Energy Transformation will be an Evolution, not a Revolution’ – Sonita Lontoh

Recently on The Energy Collective, Trillant Executive Sonita Lontoh wrote about the outlook of the energy industry. In her post, The 21st Century Energy Transformation will be an Evolution, not a Revolution, she shares insights on how energy will move forward. The opening paragraph is below, followed by my commentary:

In any given month these days, you could find a smart energy conference to go to, and you wouldn’t have to look that hard. There is no shortage of discussion on the smart energy revolution, whether it’s at a conference, at school, in the office, or online. But for all the talk about revolutionizing the traditional energy industry into a more modernized, low-carbon industry – when the discussion begins with all the futuristic cool applications drawing from the analogy of the Internet or the iPhone apps, as it often does, that discussion misses the point. For many reasons, the 21^stcentury energy transformation will most likely be an evolution rather than a revolution, or face the risk of the transformation causing catastrophic reliability issues in the process. [Continued at The Energy Collective]

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A very important takeaway: “Unlike the industrial revolution of the 19^th century, or the internet revolution of the 20^th century, the 21^st century energy evolution needs long-term vision and strategic focus and resolve of many stakeholders: innovators, incumbent utilities, consumers, regulators, and the government.” Continue reading →

My Editorial, "A Substantial Failure" In Energy Education

Check out my article, featured exclusively on The Energy Collective. It addresses what Michael Spence, a Nobel Laureate, referred to when he mentioned “A substantial failure” in education about America’s energy situation. Hopefully the US can start moving towards energy reality, and soberly determine the best path forward.

It is a curious thing when a mindset develops. Thoughts, data interpretation, reactions, and behaviors become solidified into expectations about what is normal and what is to come as that sense of normal changes. It’s an important process of human development, and it is a particularly interesting thing to look at on a national scale — and when it comes to American perspectives on energy, attempting to sort out the present situation requires looking at what ‘we’, the collective USA, have been telling ourselves.

Earlier this week, Michale Spence exclaimed:

A substantial failure of education about non-renewable natural resources lies in the background of current public sentiment. And now, having underinvested in energy efficiency and security when the costs of doing so were lower, America is poorly positioned to face the prospect of rising real prices. - “The Energy Deficit” by Michael Spence | Project Syndicate

I agree on both counts; the failure in education and the allusion to difficulties because of a lack of foresight about energy.

Continue Reading at The Energy Collective

YaleE360: Amory Lovins Lays Out His Clean Energy Plan

I’ll have to check out this book…

For four decades, Amory Lovins has been a leading proponent of a renewable power revolution that would wean the U.S. off fossil fuels and usher in an era of energy independence. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he talks about his latest book, which describes his vision of how the world can attain a green energy future by 2050.