February 22, 2010
Bill Gates Calls for Innovation
In a recent article posted by Bill Gates, he noted that in order to reach certain goals for reduction of CO2, insulation is not the answer, but rather through innovation. The goals referenced by Mr. Gates include a 30% reduction in CO2 by 2025 and an 80% reduction in CO2 by 2050. As Mr. Gates points out, the 2050 goal is likely not attainable – not without major innovation.
The issue, as I see it, is that this is a global goal. It is tough to have a global goal, however, if every country is not on board. If that is the case, then we must look to the law of averages. If only one of the major CO2 producing nations is not completely on board, then there is no way that the goal can really be attained. That is, not unless the remaining countries take their CO2 production down to nearly 0%. Unfortunately, there are some greenhouse gas emissions that we just cannot stop. As noted in the article, this may include, for example, the decaying process, making fertilizer, etc. So what does that mean for the USA? I believe it means a major shift in our transportation and energy production industry. It means that we will need a complete shift away from the archaic idea of burning fuel, i.e., petroleum, coal and even natural gas, in order to generate power.
