I was hoping this is where the conversation would end, that it is about thinking and paradigm shifts and changing our values rather than a sort of technological problem. Because if we substitute, then we'll bring the same problems with us. We are going to have to wrap up. Is there somebody you think should continue this debate? Um, he actually got the show. Do you think you choose a name together? Can you choose names for people who have been on other sides of the camp? Yeah, I'll email you. That's great. Well, obviously, it might be dozens of people. But I could come very interested in the Venus Project that was originally developed by Jack Presco.
So do we have enough materials for a renewable economy or not?
A few months ago, the energy-Twittersphere exploded into debate over Simon Michaux’s report detailing how we lack enough materials and minerals for a renewable economy. I interviewed Simon, a researcher at GTK Finland, about this report, in which he laid out the lack of raw materials and the ecological cost of mining which will impede a renewable energy future.
The report was divisive, with anyone and everyone weighing in on the debate, and more than some name-calling online. Nafeez Ahmed, a systems researcher and investigative journalist who has been reporting on the environment for 20 years, published a detailed piece “debunking” Simon’s report. It caused another stir online, with calls for a debate between the two tweeted from around the world.
Watching this unfold, I was concerned by how those on the same side of the fight can end up at odds, and bemused by the vitriol I witnessed on Twitter in both Simon and Nafeez’s name. Simply, if we can’t learn to speak with one another, what’s the point?
They were both quick to agree to a debate, and had already been engaging over email on the topic. We go into the technical details of the report but also discuss the polarisation of science, the processing of information, the politics and tribalism driving conversation, before exploring the benefits of how an energy transformation can truly transform society.
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