In the posting before this one, I wrote about the book Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman. Having finished it, I now consider this book mandatory reading for anyone who wants to be taken seriously in the Environment-Energy debate. Seriously by me, that is. My default question in any discussion will be: “Have you heard of Friedman…. etc….?” If the answer is “no”, then I’ll switch to talking about the weather or some mindless mass spectacle like soccer (of which I haven’t got the slightest clue) right away and the discussion will be over. Life is too short to waste on ignorance.
Why should I be so harsh on my fellow planeteers? Well, since a few days ago I have a good reason. I saw something on TV that really tickled my dark side. It was some entrepreneur from the Rotterdam area petrochemical industry, who was commenting on the CO2 tax which the government is about to instate. This man actually pulled it off, to say on camera, with a straight face, that his company might have to look for another place to go, because the eco-tax was going to cost his company millions of Euro’s?
And I keep thinking: so what?
My first problem with this terrible man, who possibly represents [the thinking of] all the other polluting chemical manufacturers in the greater Rotterdam area, is that he has no qualms sticking to a way of producing stuff that is killing us all. And then he even has the gall to pick up and go, and do the same thing somewhere else because in Rotterdam the ground is getting too hot under his feet… Why? Because the people in the Netherlands are literally sick and tired of getting cancer and respiratory diseases because of polluters like the petrochemical industry residing in their backyards, who even refuse to clean up their act because “it costs them too much of their profit”.
So the answer of the big-shots in the chemical industry is to go elsewhere, to a place where the people are – still – unable to complain against life-threatening toxic substances in their environment. A country where the corrupt or incompetent government has not yet understood its primary role: to protect its people from malevolent elements. These elements are the petrochemical entrepreneurs who sidle their way in. So the government officials will pocket their perks, but they will omit making laws or instating taxes which would actually serve the nation and the local environment. If you think about it, it is really nauseating.
There is hope, though. It won’t be long before all governments on the planet will understand that they must make a serious effort to protect their neck of the woods from irreparable damage done by rogue companies. They will understand at least two things: First: that the masses, who are becoming more articulate by the day – because of the Internet for instance – are not going to accept any crap for much longer. So if these “leaders” want to stay in power without oppressing the pants off of their subjects, they will have to become “green”. And secondly: any country that is not going with the green wave, thus helping the future generations to survive, will eventually fall victim to radical boycotts by those who are cleaning up the damage that has already been done.
To make a long story short: “green” is going to be “it”, and everyone who is opposing this now, will pay the price later. Just like the Big Tree, the American car manufacturers, who are having the spanking of their lifetimes. Guess what… it’s not just the financial crisis. It’s also the stubborn, thick-sculled refusal to understand that nowadays, the consumer wants to tread lightly on the planet without making too many tracks. Those car manufacturers who are able to deliver green cars, are still making profits; in spite of the crisis in the industry. So eat your hearts out, you Big Tree Bullies!
Since I am an Italian (sort of), and opposing change is the national disease in that country, I know that nothing will change if everyone keeps thinking that nothing will change. But mark my words (nicked from some very smart people who actually know what they are talking about): polluting industry and transport will become obsolete one day; either by a humanly induced change, or by our extinction.
The one thing that has to happen is that the nations commit to the change that has to come. Instead of subsidising companies or research that are in the “fuels from hell”, the focus should divert to those who are in the “fuels from heaven”*. The equation is simple: It won’t happen if we don’t put our minds to it.
I have one last remark: Many people still keep thinking that the traditional energy industry will successfully hold back any innovation towards – or at least a switch to – globally sustainable energy. This is pure nonsense. A considerable number of new players are developing new sustainable energy production methods or improving on existing ones. These are NOT the players of old, who could claim ownership of – or concessions on – oilfields or uranium mines. Neither are they the ones who are holding on to an elaborate and complex production infrastructure, as well as the grid to transport energy (or people, for that matter).
The sun and the wind are not subject to ownership by anyone, nor is the concept of private transport. So the new players will come from new industries. As some have already put it: “The new car will be electrical and possibly developed by Apple or Sony. Goodbye Opel, Ford and Fiat.” There is no reason why these (soon to be) obsolete giants will survive a shift of consumer focus. And what about the oil companies? They will have to invest in going solar, or they will be dead meat.
* This is a nice touch by Friedman. Fuels coming out of the earth, like oil, coal, gas and uranium, he calls fuels from hell. Solar energy, wind, tidal- and hydro energy and biomass he calls fuels from heaven.
