A Healthy Sense of Hope

Here's an inspiring story written by Sonja Waters of grist.org about how those of us who are parents (and yes, the non-parents of our generation) have to help our children (and other peoples' children) develop a healthy sense of hope about the future. The story is punctuated with a somewhat humorous dialog between Sonja, her teenage daughter who is having climate nightmares and her mother (the grandmother in the story). There was a lot that our generation (essentially the baby-boomers) have done for clean water, clean air and tolerance of differences in our society, but the gloom and doom of the future exists for our kids. They see big, big problems, melting ice caps, suicide-bombers, the continued proliferation of nuclear weapons, and wonder whether the world will end in their generation.

So what are we doing about giving them a sense of hope? We tell children not to talk to strangers, to avoid fast-food (at least most of the time) and to study really hard to get ahead (ahead of whom?). Are we really preparing them well for the future? I've worked hard for over twenty years in my career, a testament to my children that hard works sort of pays off. Both of my children understand the importance of working hard. But that's not enough. As role models for the young (yes, that's us, not Kobe, certainly not Roger Clemens, maybe, maybe Tom Brady) we should be doing our best to make the world a better place for our children and that requires effort.

So, what are you doing to make the world a better place for our children?

Reduce the Hype, Get the Real Numbers on Alternative Energy Sources

Heather and Martin referred me to this book by a British physicist for learning how to assess the real impact of various forms of renewable energy. The book is in draft form right now. Just reading the Preface, I'm hooked! The author, University of Cambridge physicist David MacKay, explains that he had to understand why two professionals, one a physicist, the other an economist, could write books about the global energy crisis and have completely opposite points of view: one claiming oil will run out and the other that there is no crisis. MacKay saw similar disagreements among noted professionals on topics such as nuclear energy and renewable forms. To understand the problem better, he wrote this book that looks at just the facts, the numbers, applied to energy sources. He explains that he wants the reader to be able to make sense of policy decisions. In his words:

"The aim of this book is to help you figure out the numbers and do the arithmetic so that you can evaluate policies; to lay a factual foundation so that you can see which proposals add up."

If you are at all concerned about energy and environmental issues, you should consider reading some or all of this book. Let's reduce the hype and get the real numbers on alternative energy sources.