A massive experiment in East Africa may provide the concrete evidence we need to edge towards universal basic income (UBI). As discussed in a previous blog post, research shows that a guaranteed annual income creates social benefits, generating empowerment and helping us map a sustainable path forward.
The five pillars of the Third Industrial Revolution are 1. shifting to renewable energy; 2. transforming the building stock of every continent into micro-power plants to collect renewable energies on-site; 3. deploying hydrogen and other storage technologies in every building and throughout the infrastructure to store intermittent energies; 4.
50 million used laptop batteries are discarded every year. The thing is, researchers have found that not only do roughly 70% of these batteries still provide a source of power, they could power an LED light for up to 4 hours a day for a whole year. The technology exists to combine solar panels with an LED light source, and by repurposing these laptop batteries, they can replace what is the most costly component of the existing technology. The IBM group, alongside a hardware R&D firm called RadioStudio, are harvesting working cells. Testing them, and combining them to create new packs.
Following up on my earlier blog on the decision by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund to divest their holdings in fossil fuels to renewables, this is part of a strategy developed at the UN during Climate Week, when more than 70 foundations in collaboration with individuals, universities, faith-based groups, schools, hospitals and cities from around the world—representing $50 billion—announced they would divest from fossil fuels and invest in new energy solutions.
I participated recently in a conference at the University of Ottawa on Sustainable Prosperity. Although originally devoted to the use of market-based instruments for sustainable development and climate action, a powerful argument was made for a mix of policy and legislative innovations, combined with market-based instruments, a dynamic balance.
It is interesting that there is a number of economists who are now talking about the need for capitalism to address issues of social inequality and the 'growing' uneven distribution of income. Most recently, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, warned, We simply cannot take the capitalist system which produces such plenty and so many solutions, for granted.
The revolution has begun, energy renewables are gaining ground. In this interview with Amory Lovins, by John Vidal, from the Guardian, some amazing facts. Since 2008, half the world's added electrical generating capacity has been renewable. Non hydro-electric renewables, chiefly wind and solar, were 49% of US and 69% of European capacity added last year.
November 4th, 2013
A key report was recently published, Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map by the International Energy Agency (IEA).