Transport 2020

It seems appropriate that, at the same time as the US oil dependent car industry faces a new future, a new interview with George Monbiot and the International Energy Agency (IEA) also indicates the urgent need for change. George interviews Fatih Birot of the IEA whose agency has just completed an extensive study of the 800 largest oil fields, a study which indicates a decline rate of 6.7% (previously the IEA estimated this at 3.7%).

The punch line is (and hopefully the car companies will begin to think creatively about this, not just their executive bonuses) - production of conventional oil will peak on or about 2020, and that's a rather short time, for us for rejig our global economy and especially our transport systems.

Any innovative entrepreneur who loves to tinker with electric motors, biofuels, fuels from algae, or trained mice on steroids inside your new car engine, watch this video to help you define your business opportunity. And start soon, otherwise, we may all move back to walking everywhere, and that would shake up the whole industrial era somewhat.

pic of George Monbiot from Monbiot.com

2009 - one for the history books

All years are part of history but some stand out more than others - the years when countries announced independence, and the years when some great achievement happened. In a family, we remember the special years when life changed and we look back on our personal achievements at those times. My wish and personal New Years Resolution is that we, as a planet, will look back on 2009 as the turning point in the struggle for the health of our planet.

My hope is that we make the tough decisions to love our global home and that we each resolve to do everything we can to ensure that this planet is functional when we hand it to the next generations. I am heartened by the new global politics the land of the United, and about the people that are being chosen by soon to be President Obama, people like Obama's new science adviser John Holdren, and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu. And hopeful that we in Australia are also making what seems like small steps in the same direction.

In this next year, I intend to focus more on entrepreneurship in Cleantech in Australia, to support and promote those who will drive the changes that we need, and my revamped GoBizGreen site now reflects this.
Thanks for reading this blog in 2008, and for 2009 I wish Health and Happiness for You and Your Family and for Our Shared Home.

Cork is cool

Cork is really cool environmentally friendly stuff that comes from cork oak trees and it is mainly grown and harvested in Portugal. It takes 25 years before a tree is ready to produce cork. After importing about 550 tonnes of this great stuff to Australia, we only recycle around 5% of it.

So it's not cool to use it only once in your wine or champagne stopper. After you celebrate and pop that cork this Christmas, pass it on - lots of groups now collect these (in Australia see Planet Ark recycling and type in Cork) and then the cork can be re-used as flooring, rather than tip filler, saving energy - that's the other part of the energy equation. And isn't is great to think that your celebration cork will be part of someone's home for many more years!

When nature speaks up, who listens?

Today I attended the National Climate Change Monitoring Symposium at Sydney University, which offered a diverse range of speakers, and a glut of powerpoint presentations. There were, however, some highlights that stood out for me, in particular, the opening remarks of Dr Tony Press of the Australian Antarctic Division who spoke about the changes happening in the chemical composition of the Southern Ocean. He added that one of the biggest unknowns in the IPCC reporting is what is happening in Antarctica. Tony spoke about the dynamics of the deep water ocean in this region and the significance of changes in plankton communities.

Several speakers addressed the changes that were happening in this pristine environment and others looked further north, including to Australia's Great Barrier Reef, home to 6 out of 7 of the world's marine turtles according to Janice Lough. The reef also supports 66,000 Australians who provide services to divers, tourists, and to others who are still discovering organisms in its vast and vulnerable systems.

The day was full of snippets, representing years of study and intense work - often undertaken by dedicated professionals to monitor our planet. It was also a day to listen to why we so urgently need to change our way of living and working, so that the "kids and their kids" will have an Antarctic and a Great Barrier Reef, to visit, to enjoy and to study.


Pics ex Flickr Antarctica Gerlache Strait by Rita Willaert and Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia by Leonard Lowe

Transforming wealth to...

On Friday 5th December, I attended a briefing with many other Sydney business people, about opportunities with the Masdar Initiative, which is a multi billion dollar investment in a new renewable energy hub city already under development by Abu Dhabi and key partners. Dr Sultan Al-Jaber, CEO of the Masdar Initiative was the leading speaker for the session and his topic was "Transforming Oil Wealth into Renewable Energy Leadership".

Dr Sultan shared his vision of this impressive venture and its goals, and the mind shift to use the oil and gas wealth to become a provider of future energy for the planet. He also saw the financial downturn as a chance to step back and re-visit our view of the world, and of a future world of sustainable urban management and renewable energy.

Seems to me that a good focus for Australia would be "Transforming COAL wealth into Renewable Energy Leadership". Businesses with innovative ideas should look for partnerships where those ideas will be taken global - and the Masdar initiative is seeking those ideas. And that brings us to the question - will our coal wealth simply evaporate or could this also become a driver of Australia's Renewable Energy Leadership?

"Time for a Massive Change"

These are not my words, but those of Vinod Khosla, CleanTech entrepreneur who since 2001 has built a huge investment in over 40 start-up companies. These companies are across four areas that he defines as 1. the war on oil 2. the war on coal 3. new materials and 4. efficiency.

Vinod has considerable experience in his work in the IT business in India, and now suggests we get smart about CleanTech. His advice is stop looking at "what is" and focus on "what can be". To drive his ventures, he seeks a mix of great people, new ideas (including some that are from people who don't know what can't be done), and people who really understand the area.

His time frame is 5- 6 years and that is for the new start-ups to be providing fuel and energy at lower costs than oil and coal. And those, such as Vinod, will be in the fore front of this massive change. Bring it on!

To see the full interview, click here

pic ex Flickr Vinod Khosla at Web 2.0 by ptufts