— Graphic by David Cyr, using energy stacks provided by David MacKay

"Please don’t get me wrong: I’m not trying to be pro-nuclear. I’m just pro-arithmetic."

David J. C. MacKay is a Professor of Natural Philosophy, in the Department of Physics, at Cambridge University. He is also the Chief Scientific Advisor to the British government's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

In his book, Sustainable Energy (without the hot air), MacKay has provided an indispensable tool for the people who want humans to get fit... rather than remain unfit to survive.

Al Gore quickly accumulated popularity and fabulous celebrity by comfortingly convincing too many millions of people that catastrophic climate change could be easily averted by the smallest deeds, like changing your light bulbs... or purchasing a Prius.

David MacKay's book offers a serious science responsible climate change mitigation and fossil-fuel replacement analysis, presented with an honest understanding that developed nation people are not going to radically reduce their energy consumption, and that developing nations will be increasing theirs. He has provided a real world environmental cost — for sustainable energy benefit — analysis.

Being a physics professor, and a proper Englishman, MacKay says his explanation of sensible solutions are "without the hot air." The American translation: without any bullshit!

MacKay has methodically calculated the possible contributions that each fossil-fuel alternative could provide. What clear-eyed science quickly makes clear is that, while renewable energy replacement of fossil-fuels is possible, those solutions won't be cheap, nor easy... nor small.

MacKay explains the enormous potential of renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, but then demonstrates that energy dependence upon renewables would require a highly industrialized landscape. The enormous potential of renewables can only be realized if the renewable energy collectors are enormous... covering enormous areas on land and at sea.

Truly effective use of renewable energy will be pervasive, and it will be invasive. We do not have time left upon the planet to argue over which privileged few will have backyards fully free of renewables, while many millions of the not so privileged people are displaced by renewable installations. MacKay demonstrates that there are various ways to resolve that size problem that renewables have... well, various ways available in any society filled with smart people, who all work well together with common interest, for the Common's good.

Because real science is subservient to political realities, MacKay provides an analysis of new nuclear energy potentials that people seriously concerned about climate change and human survival should seriously consider.

For those who think no big solution can ever be a good solution, I suggest they consider what the obvious Final Solution will be. If developed nations don't rapidly reduce energy waste and provide the large scale alternative energy source transition required to mitigate climate change, before it's too late to do so, then, when faced with both life sustaining resource depletion and the prospect of total human extinction, those with the capability to exterminate millions and billions of "others" will.

When the Climate Wars begin, the nations that now casually wage the Resource Wars to just be more comfortable than the "other" will not be reluctant to exterminate any "other" in order for the privileged people in the most highly weaponized nations to survive, and continue to be comfortable.

The people Peak Oil obsessed claim that technology can't possibly replace fossil-fuels. MacKay has explained how technology surely can. The science needed is available. The decision to use it or not to, and how to use it if used, are political decisions for societies to make. We already have the technological ability to replace fossil-fuels with sustainable alternatives. What's currently lacking is the political will. It's been too easy for We The People to short-term  benefit from essentially sacrifice-free wars of aggression waged upon "other" people living over large remnants of fossil-fuels. There is some glimmer of hope. Many Americans are waking up to the fact that it is now them who are the "other" living over what are the last tiny remnants of fossil-fuels.

The transition away from fossil-fuels to sustainable alternative energy won't happen — can't happen — unless there's a great political reformation — a revolution — soon. For humans to continue to have a habitable planet, without resorting to massive exterminations in the Climate Wars already being Pentagon planned (under assumption that victors will survive those), the sociopathic global corporate state's control of national governments would need to end soon, and the corporate capacities to construct would need to be controlled by the sensible policies of natural person governed socialist states.

The unfortunate reality is that the liberals and conservatives of the American electorate regularly united together provide 99% corporate party popular mandates for perpetually waging fossil-fueled resource wars. The American people won't likely support large scale renewable energy unless scientists first discover ways to use it for powerful new solar and wind powered weapons.

David J. Cyr

Delhi, NY

_______________________________________________

PDF files of MacKay's book can be downloaded for FREE, at:

http://www.withouthotair.com/

His site also has links to purchase in hardcover or paperback form