{"id":216584,"date":"2026-03-05T18:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T23:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/?p=216584"},"modified":"2026-03-06T12:23:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T17:23:30","slug":"optimistic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/optimistic\/","title":{"rendered":"Finally, a future we can be optimistic about: Hugh Holland | Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Hugh Holland<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that climate change is now having a profound impact on all aspects of life. But what drives climate change?<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Earth is surrounded by a 100 km-wide atmosphere composed of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and trace amounts of argon and carbon dioxide (CO2).\u00a0 The atmosphere blocks the penetration of -245\u00b0C cold from outer space.\u00a0 For centuries, the average temperature and weather conditions around the Earth and its atmosphere remained stable at around 13.5\u00b0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with the start of the industrial age in 1850 came the burning of fossil fuels, which added more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Carbon emissions act like a greenhouse roof, trapping heat from the sun and raising the average temperature of the Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The population in 1850 was 1.2 billion people, and emissions were estimated at 204\u00a0million\u00a0tonnes.<\/span> 17<\/span>5 years later, in 2025, the population had risen 6.8 times to 8.2 billion, and emissions had risen 186 times to 38\u00a0billion\u00a0tonnes because emissions don\u2019t go away. They keep accumulating in the atmosphere. T<\/span>he Earth\u2019s average temperature has risen by almost 2\u00b0C above 13.5\u00b0C and is expected to keep rising.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That doesn\u2019t sound like much, but climate scientists estimate it’s equivalent to adding billions of Hiroshima bombs’ worth of heat to raise the temperature that much while continuing to offset the penetration of extreme cold from outer space.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like turning up the heat on a pot of water, currents change, bubbles form in new places, and the whole system becomes turbulent.\u00a0 The more emissions, the more heat is trapped, the more unbalanced the system becomes, and the more unstable the climate becomes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For 150 years, countries and companies used religion and politics in their competition for control of fossil fuels. But now, we really have only one common enemy: climate change.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of what is happening to American democracy has its origins in the strategy of the multi-billionaire\u00a0Koch brothers<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> fossil fuel owners who started \u201cCitizens United<\/em>\u201d and lobbied for two decades to change election campaign laws so that corporations and trade unions can contribute directly to election campaigns and buy their politicians.\u00a0 That was approved in 2010.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Climate change is accelerating, and there is no longer a genuine scientific dispute about the reality of global warming and its causes. \u00a0And there is now a clear path for a transition to an \u201celectrotech<\/strong><\/a>\u201d economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The electrotech revolution is the most profound transformation of the world\u2019s energy system since the shift from biomass to fossil fuels in the 18th century. As electrotech costs fall and exponential growth continues, a century of evolution is converging into a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three groups of technologies are coming together to form electrotech \u2013 a revolution in the way the world generates, stores, and moves electricity \u2013 renewable supply from solar and wind; falling energy demand from electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Physics: Electrotech makes the energy system more efficient<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electrotech is about three times more efficient than fossil-fuel systems, which waste two-thirds of primary energy as heat at a cost of $5 trillion every year. Solar and electrification enable us to harness the power of the sun, which gives access to 100 times as much energy as fossil fuels.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Economics: Electrotech gets cheaper as it scales<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fossil fuel commodities get more expensive as extraction continues, and their prices are elevated by major producers controlling the supply. Electrotech is manufactured and modular, resulting in clear learning curves, with costs falling by around 20% every time deployment doubles. Electrotech is already capturing two-thirds<\/a> of global energy investment and is responsible for all the expected growth in energy jobs<\/a>. Electrotech contributed<\/a> 10% of global GDP growth in 2023, including 22% in China, 5% in India, 30% in the EU, 7% in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Geopolitics: Electrotech enhances independence and security<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eighty per cent of the world lives in fossil-fuel-importing countries, with over 50 countries\u00a0importing more than half<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>their primary energy as fossil fuels. In contrast, 92% of countries have renewable energy potential more than 10 times their current demand. Replacing imported fossil fuels using three key levers\u2014EVs, heat pumps and renewables\u2014can\u00a0cut net fossil fuel imports<\/a>\u00a0by 70%, saving $1.3 trillion globally each year. Once electrotech is bought, it lasts for decades, providing insulation from the vagaries of global pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We now have a choice to make. Either we, including the fossil fuel companies, embrace a rapid transition to electrotech with an infinite supply of clean energy and an improving environment.\u00a0 Or we continue with finite fossil fuels until we run out, and face energy shortages along with a rapidly deteriorating environment from climate change.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Hugh Holland is a retired engineering and manufacturing executive now living in Huntsville, Ontario.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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