Brittle Power- PARTS 1-3 (+Notes) - Natural Capitalism Solutions

The notes for Chapter 17 appear on page 375 of this pdf.Chapter SeventeenAchieving Resilience(with Alec Jenkins)*The federal roleFrom the 1973 oil embargo until 1981 (and thereafter, in all countries exceptthe United States), national governments have considered the energy problemto be primarily their problem: one that threatens the security and economicintegrity of the whole country, that is debated in the national legislature, andthat is to be solved by new laws and regulations. At first, energy efficiency andappropriate renewable sources were scarcely on governments’ agendas; suchalternatives were more or less politely dismissed in favor of more familiar (but,as it turned out, slower and much costlier) measures to increase domestic energysupplies. But harsh economic realities have markedly changed that dismissiveattitude. Support for cost-effective alternatives is nowadays heard even inofficial quarters not traditionally sympathetic to them. When reservations areexpressed, they generally concern questions of degree and speed, not of principle.This change is illustrated by the Canadian government’s strategy paper,which reverses previous policy by stating:The realities of the energy future indicate the wisdom of accelerated efforts to developnew and renewable energy forms….While most conventional forecasts imply arelatively modest role for renewables, it is clear that many Canadians do not sharethat view. Indeed, the dramatic surge in the use of wood [as fuel]…suggests thatthese forecasts understate substantially the contribution to be made. Moreover,while forecasts are useful tools for analysis, they can tell us only what will happenunder certain conditions. The conditions—the policies—are the keys. Many thoughtfuland concerned Canadians believe that we should alter the forecast, that weshould decide soon on a preferred energy future, and establish the conditions thatwill take us there. The National Energy Program envisages a much greater role forrenewable energy. The Government of Canada believes that economic realities nowfavour a range of renewable energy options. 1293* The opinions expressed in this chapter are the responsibility of the senior authors