Part One
Bill Gates is investing millions to halt global warming by creating an inexhaustible supply of carbon-free energy. Jeff Goodell writes in RollingStone a concise and accurate account of our $50 billion dollar man’s visions for our Planet. “His voice carries enormous credibility about how technology can be used to solve global warming,” says Fred Krupp, head of the Environmental Defense Fund.
Gates is a radical consumerist. In his view, energy consumption is good- it just needs to be clean energy. As he sees it, the biggest challenge is not persuading Americans to buy more efficient refrigerators or trade in their SUV’s for hybrids; it’s figuring out how to raise the standard of living in the developing world without wrecking the climate. Achieving that, he argues, will require an “energy miracle”- a technological breakthrough that creates an inexhaustible supply of carbon-free energy. Although he doesn’t know what form that miracle will take, he knows we need to think big. “We don’t really grasp the scale of the problem we are facing.” “The right goal is not to cut our carbon emissions in half. The right goal is zero.” ” A really big breakthrough,” Gates says, is knowing that our best hope lies in pursuing many, many paths.”
The thing that really changed in civilization- only about 250 years ago- was an intense use of energy. It changed everything: transportation and food and appliances and communication.. I’m interested in making sure the poorest countries don’t get left behind, so figuring out how they can get cheap energy is very, very important. Whether it’s fertilizing crops or building, alot of it comes down to energy.
It’s the poorest people in tropical zones who will get really hit by climate change- as well as ecosystems, which nobody wants to see disappear.
Bill is a man of Compassion. Please stay tuned for Part Two….DL