“Halls of justice painted green, money talking, … money tips her scales again, make your deal. I can’t believe the price we pay. … Nothing can save us, justice is lost!” … is what the heavy metal band Metallica bemoaned in the title song of
Commonly defined as ‘the capacity to do work’, energy has always been central to human societies, whether produced by an open fire, a water mill, or a nuclear reactor. There are deep links between available energy and the very structure of civilizations, including their types
Introduction The drive for profit in extracting, selling and using gas challenges efforts to secure sustainable futures, whether local, regional or global. As a fossil fuel, gas now comprises over 20% of energy used world-wide. Gas is primarily methane. When burned, it produces 75% of
Energy is one of the foundations of industrial society. The transition to an ecologically sustainable energy system, based on renewable energy and energy efficiency, is essential for environmental reasons and has the potential for improving social equity. The easiest and least expensive scenarios for the transition involve electrifying most heating and transportation while substituting fossil fuelled electricity with renewable electricity (RElec), the bulk of which is supplied by variable renewable electricity (VRElec), mostly wind and solar photovoltaics (PV). Bulk electricity from wind and solar PV, ‘firmed up’ with storage, is now generally less expensive than new coal-fired power stations and is much cheaper than nuclear.
How is this New Economy? A Just Transition is central to the viability of the new economy movement. After the serious climate impacts over summer and the surprising election result, now is a good time to reconsider our thinking around what we mean by the