Cincinnatus BLOG *** Political Commentary - Social Commentary

Only one industrial country in the world has significantly reduced its carbon footprint, and that country is France. France, the sixth largest economy in the world, ranks 15th in carbon dioxide emissions, behind pre-industrial economies like Iran and Indonesia. France has simultaneously, reduced its dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuels, coal, natural gas and oil. While we dither with small-scale experimental intermittent technologies like solar and wind in the United States, France has gone nuclear and clean. In 2008 wind and solar accounted for 1.1% of US energy needs and even if we meet President Obama's objective of doubling the amount by 2012, its contribution will still be inconsequential.  In the best-case scenario for wind and solar, they might together generate 20%-25% of our clean… Continue reading | 4 Comments

Today, we can only sustain a small proportion of earth's population at a sophisticated economic level without dramatically increasing carbon dioxide production. Energy use is the direct correlate of a vibrant economy - in the United States for example, we consume 24% of the world's oil and are responsible for approximately 28% of global GDP. This is no accident. The power that propelled hundreds of millions of people in Europe, Japan and North America to economic prosperity must be shared with the billions in the emerging world. Understandably, these large emerging nations are unwilling to wait for the ultimate clean energy innovation to power the world of the future. They want a seat at the prosperity table and they want it now. It would be the height of arrogance for Continue reading | 3 Comments