Energy, Environment, Security: Can we have it all?

So Steven E. Kooonin swung by the quaint little champaign-urbana area in the middle of nowhere to grace this year's Beckman Lecture Series as the speaker. I must say being the Chief Scientist of BP does translate into some kind of pompousness.

Key take-aways:

1. Though intensity of carbon use has decreased in recent years, carbon emission levels have increased. In order to prevent the carbon concentration levels in the atmosphere to rise beyond 550-600(ppm) as current trends predict, reduction in emissions need to reach a factor of -2. However, imagine if China and/or India's emissions achieved parity with that of Japan (least emissions amongst the developed nations), global emissions will increase by 40%. So amidst concerns of global warming etc, I think something new he higlighted was the unhealthy carbon concentration level. Timeframe: within my lifetime. damn it.

2. Problems impeding energy solutions include scale, cost competition with alernatives, players with divergent interests and longevity of fixed asset investments. Behind the velvet curtains of the energy theatre, lies the backstage crew of economical forces and political will.

3. Education needs to penetrate not only the public, but policy makers and academia to infuse some sort of global direction, one that isn't misguided by personal interests and selfish gains.

This leads me to the whole new topic of behavioral economics which worships self-interests as describe in the book 'Mind of the Market'. Not a topic for today's discussion though.