Category Archives: Economy and the Environment

Why we don’t have the luxury of saying no to low-carbon energy, in one chart

Posted on October 17, 2016 by

I’ve long maintained that the climate crisis is so acute that humanity simply does not have the luxury of picking and choosing which low-carbon energy sources we’d use. That option was foreclosed perhaps two decades ago, but the idea that … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecomodernism, Economy and the Environment, Energy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Songs from the Hungerland: reflections on Ecomodernism, history, and Nature

Posted on October 26, 2015 by

Songs from the Hungerland in response to 21.10.15 The Guardian opinion piece: The Brave New World of Ecomodernism During spring and summer 2014, I spent many nights under the Finnish sky. Early the next morning where the picture above was taken, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Ecomodernism, Economy and the Environment, Energy, History of technology | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The environmental policy of Finnish ecomodernists, in brief

Posted on October 1, 2015 by

Ecomodernism is a new environmental movement. Many people have asked whether there is anything new to it, or whether it is, as one commenter put it, a slogan searching for a meaning. Fair enough: so far, we’ve been content with … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy and the Environment | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Finnish version of “Climate Gamble” now out!

Posted on February 25, 2015 by

A shortish treatise on climate change and nuclear power, Uhkapeli ilmastolla – vaarantaako ydinvoiman vastustus maailman tulevaisuuden? (Climate Gamble – is anti-nuclear movement endangering the world’s future?) is now in press and can be pre-ordered here. The book discusses the state of climate … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy and the Environment, My publications, Nuclear energy & weapons | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Graphic of the Week: Can nuclear plants load-follow?

Posted on February 19, 2015 by

…nuclear power can and does “load-follow” as the load in the power grid fluctuates. By doing so, it helps balance out large fluctuations in the production of variable renewables. So, far from being the obstacle to renewable deployment as often claimed, nuclear power seems to be a quite critical part of it. Continue reading →

Posted in Economy and the Environment, Infographics, Nuclear energy & weapons | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Graphic of the Week: How fast has low-carbon energy been built?

Posted on January 19, 2015 by

This data, and other evidence, make it puzzling how one of the most common refrains against using nuclear power to combat climate change is still that it is too slow. Surely, those people cannot be saying that renewables are by implication far too slow? Continue reading →

Posted in Economy and the Environment, Energy, Infographics, Nuclear energy & weapons, What they aren't telling you about nuclear power | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Graphic of the Week: Estimates of world energy consumption to 2100, and renewables generation to 2050

Posted on December 15, 2014 by

The question, therefore, is this: should we gamble literally everything on the off chance that the most optimistic renewable energy proposal has it right, and that the most optimistic energy demand estimate is also correct? Continue reading →

Posted in Economy and the Environment, Energy, Infographics, Nuclear energy & weapons | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments