AREDAY 2019…. Reflections of a Conservative, Conservationist, Veteran & Patriot

I recently returned from a fascinating few days spent in central Colorado at Snowmass (14-17 August 2019) where I attended and spoke at the 16th American Renewable Energy Day conference (AREDAY). The event, founded by Chip Comins, is an opportunity for folks to gather and discuss a wide variety of technologies, policies, to network, seek investors or donors, collaborate, discuss and even argue a little about energy. This year’s theme was “The Politics of Change: Creating the New Hydrogen-Carbon Economy.” 

The conference was quite impressive. Various speakers and presenters of note discussed new technologies, improvements to existing methods, as well as many different ideas about policy and how to use it to encourage or to punish industry to reduce the environmental impacts of the extractive energy industry. From my perspective, one largely consistent emphasis for many speakers was a reliance on government to accomplish change in the energy industry, vice faith in the private sector to effect change. There seemed to be little emphasis on a cooperative approach to problem solving between the public and private sectors. While a fantastic and informative event, I suspect that depending on government rather than working with industry will not prove an entirely successful approach. Given another consistent theme from many speakers was how little time we purportedly have to slow, stop or reverse adverse effects from two centuries of burning fossil fuels, cooperation by all actors seems more likely to bear fruit or achieve the change so many called for at this event.

I appeared on a panel last November in Denver at the 11th Annual Energy Africa Conference. There I spoke about China in the energy sector in Africa. It is a topic where Beijing gets a lot of positive press about building infrastructure, but little attention is given to how in spite of promises to focus on alternative energy, more than nine of ten Chinese energy projects across Africa remain traditional power generation plants. Chip Comins was on that panel with me and a couple of months ago invited me to go out to Aspen to speak at AREDAY. I was humbled and grateful to be invited and offered a chance to speak about Africa. But to be honest, with living overseas the past couple of decades, I was only tangentially familiar with the AREDAY event. I had little idea that so many accomplished people, incredibly wealthy and connected folks (yes, billionaires were there too), activists and talented individuals participated in this event. It was quite an eye opening and impressive three and a half days.

The American Renewable Energy Institute (AREI) presents AREDAY as a non-partisan and apolitical event. But, let’s be honest with ourselves, with a hot button topic like energy or climate change (an integral theme throughout the event), politics WILL be part of the conversation. While there were many entrepreneurs and a lot of activists too, I was somewhat surprised that few traditional energy sector actors were present. True, the coal, oil and gas industries were frequently the unfair target of comments. But I would have expected at least a few representatives to be there to hear what was presented. At a minimum it seems to me to be important to know what your “opposition” is up to as they seek to change, undermine or destroy your existing business model.

I met fascinating people, including film producers, naturalists, folks seeking to reintroduce wolves in Colorado, entrepreneurs, business people with new technologies, even a former US rugby player and people from all over the world. Many folks said things that resonated with me. Others, not so much. But then that is the purpose of gathering in the first place, no? To share ideas and seek solutions to the world’s challenges. Several people with whom I spoke were puzzled that I consider myself a conservationist and not an environmentalist. Others were confident that my political views will change after I retire from the Army next month. Good luck to them on their assumptions. The problem with labeling someone something is that our polity is far more complex than most political actors presume it is.

For my part, I appeared on a panel about leapfrogging Africa and the developing world over fossil fuels and into renewable energy production. The crux of my argument is that we achieve three wonderful things if only the world’s leading renewable energy market and technology innovator (hint that is NOT China – it is the USA) would enter the African marketplace in a significant fashion. First, with 643 million Africans lacking access to safe, reliable, stable and affordable electricity, we can accomplish much in terms of development, better health, improved lives and social good delivery of that electricity in Africa. Second, Africans want, need and demand that electricity. 

Africa’s population will nearly double to 2.3-2.5 billion people by the year 2050. The existing deficit and coming explosive demand for electricity represents the single greatest business opportunity of the 21st Century. A disengaged America risks becoming a second rate global economic and political actor if American business continues to sit on the sidelines, regardless of what China does or does not achieve. Finally, for all those climate activists busy trashing American energy, open your eyes to China, India, Brazil and Africa. Even if the US reaches a carbon negative energy market, all our efforts will be meaningless if China keeps building hundreds of coal-fired power plants in China and in countries across Africa. Get your renewable business to Africa to keep carbon in the ground as Africa grows!

Andrew Horvath of Star Scientific discussed Star’s patented Hydrogen Energy Release Optimiser or “HERO” technology and a hydrogen-based economy. Others shared thoughts on block chain technology and financing alternative energy projects. Echomerit Technologies’ Jim Dehlsen’s address on “Where the Currents and Tides are Taking Us” covered the potential for power generation from ocean currents and offshore underwater turbines. Stan Emert, Executive Vice President of Strategy at Green Envirotech Holdings, shared how his company's pyrolysis technology addresses two of the most challenging waste problems we face by turning end-of-life tires and unrecyclable waste plastics into valuable commodities like carbon black, steel and oil. These innovative technologies, as well as different approaches to energy and environmental challenges appear to be headed in the right direction that so many speakers and attendees called for in the energy sector and in protecting our habitat.

While the technological advances and methods of improving efficacy throughout the energy sector are promising and well worth my time, they were not the only things that caught my attention at AREDAY. Three other things from this conference stand out as eye openers for me: (1) shaming/name calling; (2) blaming/accountability; and finally, the wide variety of expertise and celebrity present. I’ll address each with the intent to share, not to criticize. Hopefully cogent and thoughtful commentary will be met with the intended result: to provoke thought and introspection so we may all grow and prosper together. My thoughts are my own and do not reflect the event planners, nor the U.S. Army (from which I soon retire).

Many presenters spoke of their topic as if it is gospel and proven beyond belief. That is fine. In some cases, they may very well be correct. But several speakers and the few who were able to ask questions were all too fond of laying blame on the “other.” Self-made billionaire Democratic Presidential candidate Tom Steyer was a keynote speaker one evening. His comments couched all the world’s evils as something the “Republicans” are to blame for (I embellish slightly, but he did blame Republicans for a host of what an objective analyst would call bi-partisan failures). Other speakers blamed corporations, greed, profits, and Republicans for climate change, pollution, poor health and so on. The speakers who were inclined to lay blame, almost always blamed others. The ease with which so many intelligent and accomplished folks slide into name calling was a bit disappointing. 

You can catch as many flies with manure as with honey, but using manure just makes everyone smell bad…. This approach strikes me as a losing proposition. People inclined to be objective and find themselves in the middle of the political spectrum will not be won over when called names or blamed for problems they have little to do with. Too, 30-35% of the electorate consists of self-described or registered Republicans. Blaming “Republicans” for all our woes is disingenuous, insulting, and ultimately self-defeating. Much like Clinton’s deeply offensive “deplorables” assault on faith loving, hardworking Americans, lumping all of one’s perceived opponents into a group is not wise. You lose millions of reasonable folks. What I did not see is a clear-headed acceptance of who is to blame, well at least in multi-party democratic societies that is. I humbly suggest that rather than blame corporations or attack folks who do not agree with one’s world view, a little self-reflection is in order.

Contrary to Mr. Steyer’s assessment that corporations are not people (in contrast to the other side that keeps saying corporations are comprised of people like you and me), they are indeed people. But this line is missing the point entirely. Corporations in a totalitarian state or state-owned enterprises in a quasi-capitalist state do as the elites tell them, not so much what the market demands or dictates. But in a capitalist or a nominally capitalist market (USA), it is the customers who buy the things corporations make and sell. It is consumers who fail to recycle, reduce consumption or reuse resources. Companies that fail to meet consumer wants, needs and desires go out of business (unless propped up by the state). Rather than blame corporations and seek use of the state to punish corporations for legitimate commerce (different than punishing malfeasance or criminal conduct), it is high time that both sides stop the blame game. The blame for our environment, carbon dioxide levels and damaged habitats lies at the feet of you and me. We are to blame!

In the 1970s and 1980s public awareness over litter, pollution and inefficient use of energy in the USA was widespread and resulted in culture change – for the better. Littering declined significantly, recycling surged, homes were retrofitted with better insulation and so on. But somewhere along the way in the 1990s and beyond, behavior reverted in the wrong direction. It is WE who toss cans out the window of a car with a single passenger, dump waste in the wrong places and use more than we need. We drive the “disposable” society. Yes, corporations cater to us and advertise to entice us. But at the end of the day, homo sapiens are ultimately responsible. Frank Thorn warned the masses who were ignorant of what was happening all around them when he shouted to the crowd “Soylent Green is people!” Like the ignorant and lazy residents of that fictional dystopian future, we as a people are all too often ignorant of or do not care about the impact of our actions. These actions include over-consumption and laziness. Ignorance plays a role. It is high time that we look in the mirror and stop pointing the finger at corporations. Stop consuming their products or services and they will adapt or die. But ignoring the elephant in the room – us – will not solve our challenges.

I was impressed and humbled by the deep talent gathered at AREDAY 2019. Engineers, scientists, ecologists, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, activists and concerned human beings all made compelling arguments for various renewable energies, policies and other apropos topics. I left the event more confident that technology, science, ingenuity and the American spirit of entrepreneurship will get us to a carbon neutral and eventually carbon negative economy in my lifetime. And based on what I saw and heard; we are far closer to that future than I suspected. While this was all impressive and encouraging, I was a bit dismayed at the frequent drumbeat for “carbon pricing” (a consumption tax, despite what its proponents claim), calls for state intervention to force the market to do things, and near complete disregard for the role of homo sapiens and our need for culture change. We do not need ever more state control (or oppression, depending on your view).

All in all, it was a fantastic experience. I am grateful to Chip and the AREDAY team for the invitation and opportunity to proselytize for improving life in Africa and helping America remain the best market on the planet.

Photo below: COL Chris Wyatt with GEN (Ret) Wes Clark at AREDAY in Snowmass, Colorado (Aug 2019)