Optimism and the Greatest Renewable Energy Source

In his new book Earth: the Sequel (the race to reinvent energy and stop global warming), author and Environmental Defense Fund president Fred Krupp offers a solid dose of optimism and plenty of examples of the true source of sustainable alternative energy: human innovation and a visionary entrepreneurial spirit.

Krupp focuses on emerging technologies in solar, bio, wind, geothermal, and wave energy, showing that there is a lot going on that we don’t hear much about in the mainstream press. At a time when our leaders (at least here in the United States) seem intent on claiming ethanol and drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge as solutions to our energy problems, reading Krupp’s book is a breath of fresh air.

I’ve written before here at Hugg about the difficulty it often is to remain optimistic given the nature of our environmental problems and our response to them. Earth:The Sequel is a hard and detailed look at why there is still much reason for optimism. It isn’t all pie-in-the-sky – some of the technologies face daunting scientific and economic challenges before they can be brought to market at scale. In many cases what is needed is the backing of government policy to help shift incentive away from our current fossil fuel based energy economy.

But the solutions are out there. What’s needed is the courage to rise to the challenge and the willingness to tap into the greatest source of renewable energy we have: ourselves.

Tags: earth+the+sequel, renewable+energy

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Optimism and the Greatest Renewable Energy Source

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