Amory Lovins, RMI and Defence Science board report

last night had the chance to hear Amory in person, he was the main speaker at an event in Washington DC (Arlington, VA actually), where he presented the 2008 Defense Science Board (DSB) report, he is a member of the DSB Energy Task Force, a civilian experts committee to advise DoD on energy.

My reason for being there was less for the report and more to meet Amory, for those not aware of how Amory or his research institute is different from the other environmental groups or individuals RMI is not in the business of telling Governments how to spend more money, instead they have been there telling businesses how to increase ROI (and Governments how to add more value to there services) by doing what they already do in a better way.

For me it was more of a pilgrimage. I have been closely following his Institutes research online, became an even bigger fan after going through Natural Capitalism and think they have done an admirable job at working with the field proven technologies in coming up with ground breaking energy efficiency solutions, the best thing about his approach towards the whole issue is his attention to the net value gained by increasing efficiency by design, this makes him not only a favorite amongst idealist but also a close friend of the business world.

As far as the RMIs stance on energy policy goes in his own words its pretty much the same as it was the first time (few years back) they came out with a report, though the consequences of not acting on the revised recommendations now are even more dire then earlier estimated.

Ed Begley is another guy who I really admire for his work towards increasing awareness for a smaller carbon foot print, he has been talking about conservation and energy efficiency for as long as RMI, though he is more on the receiving end of the design/technological advances that may happen as a result of research carried out by institutes such as RMI.

for those interested in RMIs solution for solving the looming energy crisis, its not nuclear power, in fact he thinks nuclear is the least cost effective of all non-carbon/low-carbon solutions, he is all about micro-power; wind mills/solar spread all across the world, distributed power supply is much more safer and smarter compared to grid based.

The 'not so' Open Line to the West Coast

Just finished listening to a radio show that a friend who recently moved to California recommended, its a talk show called 'The Open Line to the West Coast' on KGO and the host is Dr. Bill, he is a scientist (according to Wikipedia, the radio website and his own resume) and from what I googled, my friend isn't the only one listening to him, he seems to be spearheading a slightly different (more rooted in the conservative approach) ideology regarding the environment, though whats interesting is that he is mostly at odds with the established proponents of the present day main stream environmental movement (which we can say for most part of the US revolves around sierra club, Al gore and the broader Democrat caucus) he seems to talk on many different topics, though I don't think all of his assertions regarding those topics can be followed blindly, though his credentials and his convictions makes you want to do just that. In the show that I listened to, he was constantly challenging the Sierra Club and the US forest service for a face off, though according to him they never respond, the colorful labels he gives them are though quite amusing in there own rite, here are some of the things he called them that I can recall from the hour long show on the ongoing lake Tahoe fire:

1- vulgar pyromaniac criminals
2- vulgar criminal hypocrisy
3- so called eco saviors
4- so called environmental saviors
5- eco-freaks
6- eco-frauds
7- bunch of do nothing nuts
8- bunch of dummies
9- eco-nerds

He is as condescending as they come, specially towards those who call in to share equally valid but different opinions, about those who think nuclear energy is not part of the solution but actually the problem, he says 'its only a problem in the eyes of the ignorant and the idiots who tell the ignorant that its a problem'

my favorite line from the show: 'talking to you is like wiping your nose on a grind stone'

things I agree on with Dr Bill:

1- right now Nuclear plants are the most viable solution to the impending energy crisis
2- the long term fix for forest fires is forest thinning
3- natural gas power plants aren't that great they also produce green house gas emissions just as coal burning plants
4- spent fuel rods from nuclear plants can and should be processed to reduce nuclear waste
5- bottled water is a fraud

What I don't agree with him on:

1- California is already doing energy conservation to the fullest and there is no more room to conserve.
My response to that: thats really load of baloney (in Dr. Bills own words) if thats so true then how come we still see SUVs occupied by single occupants hogging CA freeways, why don't we see more neighborhoods transformed in to walkable ones, why don't we see billions of dollars pouring in to mass transit projects and I can go on and on and on...

2- nuclear energy plants are problem free.
my response to that: chernobyl

3- his total irreverence to people with a different point of view.
my response to that: diversity of thought is one of the things that make this country great, your age old beliefs and opinions shouldn't be a hindrance to your ability to listen to new ideas and castigate those who present them, thats not very productive, scientists should know better.

I started off thinking I will blog on the lake Tahoe fire, but ended up rewriting the whole piece on Dr. Bill I guess thats the thing about polarizing personalities, they take your focus away from the issue, but then there is already a lot being written on it, my adding to it would just be adding noise to the coverage.