Stranger than (Climate) Fiction

12/12/23 • 58 min

What is the role of literature in the climate policy and technology discussion? How does the genre allow us to explore uncomfortable climate scenarios, including those to do with heat death and direct action? While ultimately successful, the path laid out in the book is very bumpy, volatile, and rife with violence – strikingly different from the smooth and orderly transition often offered up by politicians and techno-optimists.
On S5E7 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara, Ed, and New York Times bestselling author Kim Stanley Robinson (of The Ministry for the Future) discuss how science fiction can help us explore different climate scenarios and solutions.
EPISODE NOTES
@0:21 – Kim Stanley Robinson
@0:21 – The Ministry for the Future - Kim Stanley Robinson
@3:13 – How hot is too hot for humans? Understanding wet-bulb temperatures
@9:00 – Carboncoin
@10:25 – The unprecedented Pacific Northwest heatwave of June 2021
@13:55 – Karl Popper
@18:45 – How to Blow Up a Pipeline - Andreas Malm
@20:32 – Dave Foreman
@21:30 – Climate protesters throw tomato soup on Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’
@27:50 – Who is Wiebo Ludwig? A thunder storm wrapped in the flesh of a man. Part 1
@30:52 – Glacier geoengineering to address sea-level rise: A geotechnical approach (Lockley et al, 2020)
@31:50 – Solar Geoengineering - should we go there?
@39:25 – Empowering Female Climate Change Activists in the Global South: The Path Toward Environmental Social Justice - Peggy Ann Spitzer
@44:05 – The Hottest Year
@46:10 – Utility of the blockchain for climate mitigation (Chen, 2018)
@49:05 – Overshooting 1.5 C limit 'looks inevitable' with record CO2 emissions from fossil fuels

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Previous Episode

Energy vs IEA Oil and Gas Scenarios

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Published each year, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook (WEO) is a leading source of scenario-based analysis of global energy demand and supply. This year, as the global energy crisis shows signs of calming, the WEO finds a peak in fossil fuels before 2030 across all scenarios. The result has been met with skepticism by some politicians in Canada, with Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith going so far as to question the credibility of the organization.

A follow-on special report from the IEA on the oil and gas industry in net zero transitions, released on November 23, offers additional insights on the role of oil and gas producers in achieving a decarbonized global energy sector.
David, Sara, Ed, and the International Energy Agency’s Chief Energy Economist, Tim Gould discuss the findings of these IEA reports and the implications for Canada and its natural resources on Season 5, Episode 6 of Energy vs Climate.
EPISODE NOTES
@3:20 – World Energy Outlook 2023
@6:10 – Oil and gas industry faces moment of truth – and opportunity to adapt – as clean energy transitions advance
@9:45 – Electric Vehicles
@10:53 – China’s electric vehicle surge will shock global markets
@14:06 – Oil demand to begin long-term decline this decade, according to new Pembina report
@24:01 – Oil Companies Are Preparing for a Lucrative Decline
@24:26 – Building Momentum Toward Net Zero
@29:05 – Canada’s Energy Future 2023
@32:50 – The Place of Energy Security in the National Security Framework: An Assessment Approach
@42:26 – Canada introduces framework to cap greenhouse gas pollution from oil and gas sector
@45:34 – Minister Guilbeault announces Canada’s draft methane regulations to support cleaner energy and climate action
@46:40 – World Energy Investment 2023
@56:26 – Economic Research: Climate Change Will Heighten Output Volatilit

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History vs Energy - How the history of energy transitions can inform our future

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Overview:
What does the history of energy tell us about energy transition?
Can we learn from the past or will we repeat the same mistakes?
What do people get wrong when trying to extract lessons from the history of energy?
Co-hosts David, Sara, and Ed are joined by guest, Dr. Petra Dolata, to discuss data on historical transitions, including lessons of deindustrialization in the Ruhr region of Germany on Season 5, Episode 8 of Energy vs Climate.
About Our Guest:
Petra Dolada is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Calgary. A former Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in the History of Energy, who held previous academic positions at the Freie Universität Berlin in Germany and at Kings College London in the UK, her research examines the 1970s energy crises, transatlantic energy relations and the historical connections between deindustrialization and energy transitions. She is the co-convenor of the Energy In Society working group at the Calgary Institute for the Humanities.
Topics:
(00:00) Intro
(03:19) Socio-energy systems design: A policy framework for energy transitions
(05:00) The 200-year history of energy transitions
(07:20) History of Prime Movers and Future Implications
(08:34) Gauging the Role of Energy Substitution in Transitioning to Low-Carbon Economies
(12:12) The Social Dimensions of Energy Transitions
(14:00) Histories of Transitions
(16:35) Peaking: A Brief History of Select Energy Transitions
(21:00) Profitable Solutions to Climate, Oil, and Proliferation
(25:00) What we need to know about the pace of decarbonization
(35:24) World History and Energy
(40:07) The Future Role of Coal: International Market Realities vs Climate Protection?
(47:10) The Energy Transition Is a Technological Revolution — with a Deadline
(51:00) Three sides to every story: Gender perspectives in energy transition pathways in Canada, Kenya and Spain