Confessions of a Failed Energy Martyr

Somewhere along the ramifying pathways of the possible, Raymond Welch became an energy consultant. In this Terrain.org guest editorial, he rants on a troubling future that he helped create.

1 minute read

August 15, 2013, 8:00 AM PDT

By sbuntin


"The data show that demand for coal and oil and gas continues its upward trend. Carbon dioxide emissions climb relentlessly. You've seen the graph of atmospheric accumulation. It wiggles with the seasons, but its slope remains implacably upward, despite our blogs and our essays and our blaming of plutocrats."

"In the United States, the centralized cooperation that is required to save the ice cap would be met with armed resistance."

"And so we will not change. Some of us have altered our behavior in superficial ways, but unless everyone changes their behavior, today, in deep, systemic ways, none of our Priuses, compact fluorescent lights, double-paned windows, solar panels, or backyard compost gardens will do much to stave off the inevitable. We need a sudden, collective realization that we must keep the ice cap whole, the faith that a shared sacrifice will do it, and the will to impose it on the recalcitrant."

Monday, July 29, 2013 in Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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