Priming the Pump for a Major Motion Picture on New Energy
January 28th, 2007To suggest that there isn’t easily enough energy available from the oceans, the sun and the wind is ridiculous. Of course, plentiful clean energy would probably lead to cascading resource scarcity in other areas… [Cryptogon reader Cherenkov accurately expanded this one sentence caveat in a comment. Sometimes I expand points in comments, but forget that many people might not be following comments. For the record, I did this re: resource scarcity vs. plentiful energy at the bottom of this comment.]
But this would be an interesting documentary in any event!
I’ve dreamed of making this film myself, believe it or not. I even wrote out a little outline/treatment, and made a list of people I’d like to visit for interviews. (The ‘secret’ project I started, but abandoned due to life circumstances, was about killer robots. The energy doc would have been the next one.) But since I’m obviously not in a position to make this happen on my own, I kicked in a few bucks to help these guys make it happen.
If you think most movies are crap, here’s your chance to help get an interesting one made!
Via: PESN:
What if there were a high-interest feature film about the many feasible New Energy technologies, presented with the level of production skill demonstrated in recent blockbusters like Al Gore’s award-winning movie, An Inconvenient Truth, Who Killed the Electric Car, or What the Bleep do We Know?
That is what the New Energy Movement and its sister organization, the New Energy Congress are intent on accomplishing — in time to make New Energy a buzz word in the campaigns leading up to the 2008 U.S. election.
The film will showcase a myriad of presently available, often little-appreciated renewable energy technologies that could eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels. And they can provide electricity for our homes and businesses, or power for our vehicles at comparable, or even lower prices than what we now pay. It will also look at technologies that are in process of emerging, as well as others that look very promising, which could provide clean, reliable and safe energy at prices far below what we now pay.
Not only do these technologies provide a solid answer to the human-caused problems of global warming, but they could introduce a much-needed revolution in the social fabric of the planet, reducing poverty, increasing quality of life worldwide, and defusing political tensions.
The purpose of this feature documentary will be to present these compelling solutions in both a deeply impacting and entertaining way, so that the level of awareness about them can increase, speeding their acceptance and implementation — a process that otherwise would take much longer.
The CCC will be holding a new summer hacker camp this year, See
http://events.ccc.de/2007/01/24/chaos-communication-camp-2007/
I am part of the program crew this year. We will have a track on renewable energy and surviving after the grid goes down. The planning is in very early stages, but if you are interested in the technical aspects of this, self organizing infrastructure (think Africa right now) and stuff like that, you should come. The camp will be near Berlin.
For example, we will invite the Steorn people. Beware though, this is a conference for techies, so the focus will be on stuff like solar energy powered wifi networks and not organic farming.
I think you must consider the fact of population growth and the problem of finite supplies of other crucial materials and life supports. According to the Updated Limits to Growth, even if we discovered fusion, we would still suffer a population crash within one hundred years.
Why? Because we are destroying the other crucial elements necessary to our survival: land, water, ocean, and air. We are also running out of metals and minerals.
The goal should not be to keep the tech world running, but to back down from our technological cul de sac and once again get on the path to natural integration.
The question is not CAN we perform these tech wonders, the question is SHOULD we perform these tech wonders. If we continue these wonders, we will suffer a much greater crash and much deeper misery. I say “we” in the sense of a greater humanity because we, you and I, will mostly likely be dead before the really tough times start, should we somehow be able to perform these tech wonders.
Entitlement lies not with the technological world but with the natural world. We are entitled to participate in a balanced way with nature. Should we decide to upset that balance, nature will destroy the excess population no matter how bright we may be.
I find it fascinating how frightened people become when they realize that their technological fantasyland may come to an end. Is the western world so dependant on stuff for happiness? Why do most studies show that people who live in simple non-techlogically advanced society are happier? Because stuff does not make one happy.
An answer will not appear from the human species. As an individual, your power remains slight, microscopic even. The powers that be will never let go of their paradigm if it means loosing their cash flow. They will ride this sick, puking cow of a society into the ground. If change comes, it will come because some member of the elites perceives that fortures are to be made by selling back to us our natural birthright. Sadly, the American consumer, indoctrinated by the appropriate ad campaign which informs them that only smart, cool, and beautiful people use Brand X eco-product, will race to the store in their Escalades to buy this eco-product bandaid.
The wheel continues to turn.
Fefe,
Thanks for the invitation, but I can’t travel, for several reasons: lack of money and farm obligations, primarily.
this is a conference for techies, so the focus will be on stuff like solar energy powered wifi networks and not organic farming
As collapse accelerates, the focus will be on organic farming and not solar powered wi-fi! HA Germany, though, has some very enlightened people in many areas, especially organic and biodynamic farming… I hope you will seek out some of them to attend your meeting. As the CCC is one of the premiere gatherings of its type in the world, it could be very helpful to get people from the organics movement involved. * Doug and Anita, are you out there? *
I think the tech crowd and the organic farming crowd have a great deal to learn from each other. I’ve walked both of these paths, and it’s a powerful combination.
The abhorrence of hard, manual work, however, is one of the most fascinating sociological aspects of the collapse crowd. Lots of people know this thing is coming down, but very few want to do any of the work required to feed themselves. This is not any kind of criticism on your group at all, it’s just a general observation of the movement that I see repeatedly. Have you made similar observations?
Kevin
Cherenkov,
Thank you so much for your expansion of my one sentence caveat on resource scarcity in other areas besides energy.
There has been so much of a focus on energy scarcity, but that’s not the root issue. It’s our cancer mimicking behavior as humans that’s the problem.
Kevin
Beautiful post (as always), Cherenkov!
This is an interesting conversation, I can see Fefe’s and Cherenkov’s perspective. I see Fefe’s perspective from an office conversation where one of the high techies in my office (that make my work life so much better) said she wanted to buy a fake fireplace for heat after I told her how much I loved having a wood stove.
I told her that she should consider something to use in the event the power went out. To her, this was a NEW IDEA. Imagine the power being out when it is winter in Pennsylvania (its finally winter here BTW and will be in the teens for awhile.) This person had never considered how to survive a power down. You could see the concept sinking in.I think my office mate was very grateful for the “idea” that not all of life’s needs can be met with better technology.
Perhaps Cherenkov there will be a way for techies and the people who know how to do a “four season harvest” will cooperate in the times to come??? Techies will need to eat, just as I will need to power up to visit enlightened web sites for another, just as important form of substenance. Soul food!
Perhaps we can help each other.
Organic farmers and techies should unite under the banner of self sufficiency.
Kevin – check out Quinoa (keen- wa) – super grain. I ate it for the first time at my mother’s 90th bday party. Deelishush. You have the climate Kevin.
Eileen
Until we address how money is created and controlled world-wide, these new technologies will remain pipe-dreams.
Watch ‘The Money Masters’ part I and II.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8753934454816686947