Because we’re now looking at different, renewable and highly fault-tolerant, often isolated methods of “off grid” energy production, the cabals and cartels running the energy empires of today will enjoy, as the author mentions, only short-term prosperity.

Over the long-term, energy production will become dirt cheap and abundant. So abundant that, if my theory is correct, controlling any energy source will be almost pointless, since no one will ever be more significant — either technologically or economically — than any other.

Of course, shares in the water utilities will see dramatic new lease of life…

In our post on penny wise and pound foolish, we use the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs as an example. You can promote CFLs and expect people to learn about them and look at the long-term economics. But until the gov’t bans incandescents like it banned leaded gas, you’ll never get the big results.

It’s about new systems and radical innovation. That innovation can be in the form of technology or just new policy.

Human behavior is quite predictable when it comes to economics and self-interest. Changing behavior “because it’s the right thing to do” only comes about through sufficient social pressure i.e. incentive. It’s not the most reliable method, and it takes time to affect large numbers of people. It took a generation to make littering socially unacceptable. We’re seeing this with the younger generation, but we don’t have that much time.

This faith in the little things can also send the wrong message. It can lull us into the false sense that it’s easy and that the problems aren’t that big. There’s a cottage industry forming around all of the little things with so many companies and nonprofits peddling the easy way to solve climate change. It may satisfy our personal guilt and give us sense of moral or intellectual superiority. But it amounts to shuffling chairs on the deck of the Titanic if the guy steering the ship doesn’t avoid the iceberg.

This is simply naive (and self-serving, but that’s another story). Disruptive, revolutionary point solutions have a role to play, but they need to be part of a more systematic, evolutionary approach. Getting 6+ billion people and their goods moving in a more efficient and environmentally responsible manner is the ultimate systems problem. We need a national CTO more like Fred Smith or Norm Augustine.

Simple things such as getting Low Emissivity windows for better heat retention in winter, or switching off unused appliances and lights will go a long way to reduce CO2 emissions if everyone comes to the party.

What I’m trying to say is we need to focus on both prevention AND the cure to global warming.