Reinventing Fire, Reinventing Hope

Notes for a talk by Ralph Torrie to the Greenwood Coalition, February 2014

DAVID ASKED ME TO PREPARE MY REMARKS THIS EVENING IN RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION – WHAT GIVES ME HOPE?

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN FIRE AND HOPE GOES A LONG WAY BACK IN OUR CULTURE. IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY, THE GODS DIDN’T WANT US TO HAVE FIRE, BUT PROMETHEUS, ANXIOUS TO ENDOW MANKIND WITH SPECIAL POTENTIAL THAT WOULD SET US APART FROM THE OTHER ANIMALS, STOLE FIRE WHILE ZEUS WASN’T LOOKING, AND GAVE IT TO HUMANITY AS A GIFT.

THE IDEA OF PROMETHEUS HAS ENDURED AS THE EMBODIMENT OF HUMANITY’S THIRST FOR SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT, BUT ALSO AS A REMINDER OF THE RISKS OF UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, OF JUST HOW MUCH WE DON’T KNOW AND HOW MUCH MORE WE DON’T KNOW WE DON’T KNOW.

ONE OF THE THINGS PROMETHEUS DIDN’T KNOW WAS JUST HOW PEEVED ZEUS WOULD BE WHEN HE FOUND OUT ABOUT HIS DEFIANCE. ZEUS HAD HIM CHAINED TO A ROCK AND SENT AN EAGLE EVERY DAY TO EAT HIS LIVER, WHICH WOULD THEN REGENERATE OVERNIGHT, AND THEN THE EAGLE WOULD RETURN THE NEXT DAY TO REPEAT THE TORTUOUS CYCLE, FOR EVER AND EVER.

THE PUNISHMENT SEEMS A LITTLE HARSH. DID ZEUS KNOW SOMETHING PROMETHEUS DIDN’T ABOUT WHERE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FIRE WOULD EVENTUALLY TAKE US?

ZEUS DIDN’T STOP WITH PUNISHING PROMETHEUS. HE FIXED UP HIS BROTHER EPIMETHEUS WITH PANDORA AND HER FAMOUS BOX. WHEN SHE OPENED IT, AS ZEUS KNEW SHE WOULD, OUT POURED ALL THE EVILS THAT HAVE OCCUPIED THE WORLD EVER SINCE: ENVY, CRIME, HATRED, DISEASE, BUT ALSO AT THE BOTTOM OF THE JAR, HOPE.

THE HOPE MADE THOSE OTHER THINGS BEARABLE, AND THE FIRE, WELL THE FIRE HAS BEEN WONDERFUL. IT REALLY HAS ALLOWED US TO LIVE LIKE THE GODS. IT KEEPS US WARM WHEN THE WEATHER IS COLD. IT ALLOWS US TO TRANSFORM BITS OF EARTH INTO IRON AND STEEL AND PLASTICS AND ALL MANNER OF OTHER MATERIALS. IT POWERS THE MOTORS AND THE ENGINES THAT TRANSPORT US BY LAND AND BY SEA AND BY AIR AT SPEEDS THAT NO OTHER CREATURES ON EARTH CAN MATCH. REALLY, WHAT WAS ZEUS’S PROBLEM? WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH FIRE?

THE PROBLEM WITH FIRE, AND ESPECIALLY WITH BURNING FOSSIL FUELS, IS THAT IT INEVITABLY RESULTS IN EMISSIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES. THE GLOBAL RATE OF FOSSIL FUEL CONSUMPTION, COUNTING ALL THE COAL, GAS AND OIL WE BURN, HAS GONE FROM ZERO NOT SO VERY LONG AGO, TO THE EQUIVALENT OF 200 MILLION BARRELS OF OIL PER DAY. NEARLY 9 MILLION BARRELS EQUIVALENT PER HOUR. 2,500 BARRELS PER SECOND!

THAT IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR THE RESULTANT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS TO UPSET THE GLOBAL CLIMATE SYSTEM, WHICH IS WHAT IS HAPPENING.

YOU MAY BE AMONG THOSE THAT DENY THIS, BUT IF SO YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT YOURS IS A PURELY EMOTIONAL RESPONSE. WE ARE KNOCKING OUT OF KILTER ONE OF THE GREAT LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEMS OF THE PLANET AND FOR MANY OF US MERE MORTALS IT IS NOT JUST AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, IT IS AN UNBEARABLE TRUTH. WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO DENY IT?

OR PERHAPS YOU ARE AMONG THOSE WHO ARE ANGRY. “WHO IS DOING THIS TO US? WHO CAN WE BLAME? IT’S THE EVIL OIL COMPANIES. WE DON’T DESERVE THIS. THEY NEED TO BE PUNISHED. LET’S CHAIN THEM TO A ROCK AND CALL IN THE EAGLES.”

OR PERHAPS YOU HAVE ADVANCED TO THE BARGAINING STAGE. “PERHAPS WE CAN EASE OUR WAY OUT OF THIS. MOTHER NATURE WANTS AN 80% REDUCTION IN EMISSIONS; LET’S TRY AN OPENING BID OF 30%. MAYBE IF WE PROMISE TO GO ON A FOSSIL FUEL DIET, THE PROBLEM WILL GO AWAY. LET’S MAKE A DEAL.” SINCE THE FIRST EMISSION REUCTION TARGET IN 1988, THERE HAS BEEN ONE COMPROMISE TARGET AFTER ANOTHER, BUT THE PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY OF THE CLIMATE NEVER RESPONDS WITH A COUNTER OFFER.

THE NEXT STAGE, (AND YOU MAY REALIZE I AM BORROWING FROM KUBLER ROSS “ON DEATH AND DYING” HERE), WHEN WE REALIZE THAT THE PROBLEM IS REAL, THAT THE ENEMY IS US, THAT NATURE DOES NOT NEGOTIATE, THEN COMES THE DEPRESSION. SOME OF MY ENVIRONMENTALIST FRIENDS ARE STUCK AT THIS STAGE. “WOE IS US. WE ARE GOING TO WRECK THE ENVIRONMENT, CIVILIZATION WILL CRUMBLE. I AM SORRY FOR MY GRANDCHILDREN, AND I AM GLAD I AM OLD ENOUGH THAT I WON’T LIVE TO SEE IT.” MAYBE YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO FEELS THAT WAY.

BUT BEYOND THE DENIAL, THE ANGER, THE BARGAINING AND THE DEPRESSION, SOMETHING ELSE IS HAPPENING. WE ARE REINVENTING FIRE, AND IN DOING SO WE ARE REINVENTING HOPE.

WHAT GIVES ME HOPE?

TECHNOLOGY, FOR STARTERS. AND YOU MAY BE THINKING, “HERE COME THE GADGETS, HERE COMES THE TECHNICAL FIX”. BUT LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY. IT IS MUCH MORE THAN GADGETS. TECHNOLOGY IS PURE CULTURE, THE EMBODIMENT OF VALUES. IT IS A LANGUAGE - THE LANGUAGE THAT WE USE TO COMMUNICATE WITH NATURE, AND THERE IS A NEW VOCABULARY.

SINCE I FIRST STARTED WORKING IN THIS FIELD 40 YEARS AGO, THE PRICE OF SOLAR POWER HAS COME DOWN BY 99%. IT HAS COME DOWN BY 80% IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. WIND POWER IS NOW UNDERCUTTING TRADITIONAL POWER PLANT TECHNOLOGY. I READ THIS WEEK ABOUT A UTILITY IN MICHIGAN THAT ANNOUNCED A 6.5% CUT IN ITS POWER RATES THIS YEAR AND SAID IT WAS THEIR INVESTMENT IN WIND THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE. THE BLOOMBERG FINANCIAL ANNUAL REVIEW OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, JUST RELEASED THIS WEEK, REPORTS THAT NEMEX, THE GLOBAL INDEX OF PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES ACTIVE IN RENEWABLES AND LOW CARBON ENERGY, IS UP 54%, OUTPERFORMING THE DOW JONES INDEX BY A FACTOR OF TWO.

HERE IN CANADA, THE CLEAN TECH INDUSTRY EMPLOYS OVER 50,000 PEOPLE IN 700 COMPANIES WITH REVENUES OVER $10 BILLION PER YEAR. THESE COMPANIES PUT OVER A BILLION PER YEAR OF THEIR OWN MONEY INTO R AND D AND THEY ARE NINE TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE EXPORTERS THAN THE AVERAGE SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISE. 82% OF OUR CLEAN TECH COMPANIES ARE EXPORTERS. THE GLOBAL CLEAN TECH MARKET SURPASSED A $1 TRILLION LAST YEAR AND IT WILL HIT $3 TRILLION BEFORE THE END OF THIS DECADE.

WHAT ELSE GIVES ME HOPE?

COLLATERAL BENEFITS. SYNERGIES. IT IS ALMOST ALWAYS THE CASE THAT WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IS GOOD FOR OTHER THINGS. WE SEE THIS AGAIN AND AGAIN. THE CARPET COMPANY THAT SETS OUT TO REDUCE THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT AND ENDS UP BOOSTING THEIR PRODUCTIVITY AND COMPETIVENESS. THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT THAT SETS OUT TO REDEVELOP ITS CENTRAL AREA AND REDUCE INFRASTRUCTURE COSTS AND ENDS UP WITH A CLEANER, GREENER, HEALTHIER COMMUNITY WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE AND COMPANIES WANT TO LOCATE. THE LOW CARBON FUTURE IS GOOD FOR EMPLOYMENT, PROFITABILITY, COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, QUALITY OF LIFE, AIR QUALITY, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND THE LIST GOES ON.

WHAT ELSE GIVES ME HOPE?

VALUES ARE CHANGING. YOUNG PEOPLE ARE EXCITED. NOW AND THEN I GET TO SPEAK WITH AND SOMETIMES WORK WITH STUDENTS ON OUR UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES AND THEY ARE ON FIRE ABOUT THIS STUFF. THE NEXT GENERATION OF ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS AND ENTREPRENEURS COMING OUT OF OUR PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS ARE LASER-FOCUSED ON THIS NEW WORLD. THEY ARE REINVENTING FIRE AND THEY ARE REDEFINING, THROUGH THEIR DESIGNS, OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE.

WHAT ELSE GIVES ME HOPE?

LOCAL LEADERSHIP. BY 1995, THERE WAS A GROUP OF EUROPEAN AND NORTH AMERICAN CITIES THAT HAD BEEN WORKING FOR OVER FIVE YEARS TO REDUCE THEIR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. WE BROUGHT A GROUP OF MAYORS FROM THESE CITIES TOGETHER IN BERLIN AT THE SAME TIME THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS WERE MEETING THERE TO DISCUSS HOW TO ACHIEVE THE GOALS OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE. I WAS GOING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE TWO MEETINGS AND THE TONE OF THE TWO MEETINGS COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE DIFFERENT. AT THE MEETING OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS, THE MOOD WAS PESSIMISTIC; IT WAS ALL ABOUT THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF REDUCING EMISSIONS AND REDUCING OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOSSIL FUELS, ABOUT THE DIRE CONSEQUENCES OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTIONS TO THE ECONOMY. DOWN THE STREET, AT THE MEETING OF MAYORS THE MOOD WAS UPBEAT AND OPTIMISTIC. ONE AFTER ANOTHER MAYOR CAME TO THE PODIUM AND TALKED WITH GREAT ENTHUSIASM ABOUT THE PROGRESS THEY WERE MAKING IN REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES, AND ALL THE OTHER BENEFITS THAT WERE FLOWING FROM THE EFFORT.

NOW WE SEE LOCAL LEADERSHIP SPRINGING UP EVERYWHERE. THERE IS NO LACK OF LEADERSHIP ON CLIMATE CHANGE, WE HAVE JUST BEEN LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE FOR IT.

WHAT ELSE GIVES ME HOPE?

THE NARRATIVE THAT IS EMERGING. WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE WHERE WE ARE GOING, NOT JUST WHERE WE HAVE BEEN. A NEW MYTHOLOGY OF THE HUMAN STORY IS BEING WRITTEN. WE ARE BEGINNING TO SEE HOW THE SENTENCES FIT TOGETHER INTO PARAGRAPHS AND THE PARAGRAPHS LINE UP TO TELL A STORY. IT IS A STORY THAT REDEFINES OUR PLACE IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS, AND REFRAMES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN. AND IT IS EMPOWERING.

WE ARE NOT GOING TO GET BACK TO THE GARDEN. YES, SOMETHING HAS BEEN LOST, BUT SOMETHING HAS BEEN GAINED. WE HAVE PERMANENTLY AND IRREVERSIBLY CHANGED THIS PLACE. THE SPECIES THAT HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO OUR EXCESSES ARE NEVER COMING BACK. IT WILL BE A LONG TIME BEFORE WE WILL SEE THE KINDER, GENTLER CLIMATE OF THE PRE-FOSSIL FUEL AGE.

THERE IS NO DENYING IT. THERE IS NO POINT BEING ANGRY OR DEPRESSED ABOUT IT. WE ARE WHAT WE HAVE BECOME, BUT WE ARE STILL THE CHILDREN OF PROMETHEUS – EVER CURIOUS, EVER STRIVING, EVER SEEKING, EVER COURAGEOUS, AND EVER HOPEFUL.

WE STAND NOW ON THE THRESHOLD OF WHAT PROMISES TO BE THE MOST EXCITING AND THE MOST PROFOUNDLY HOPEFUL CHAPTER OF THE HUMAN STORY. THE DOOR IS CRACKED OPEN AND WE CAN GLIMPSE WONDERFUL THINGS WAITING FOR US IF WE WALK THROUGH.

WE ARE ABOUT TO FIND OUT, ONCE AND FOR ALL, WHAT WE ARE MADE OF. AND WE HAVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS TO THANK FOR THAT. FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS IS ULTIMATELY A HUMAN CRISIS, HUMAN IN ITS ORIGINS, HUMAN IN ITS CONSEQUENCES, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, HUMAN IN THE SENSE THAT ITS RESOLUTION WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE CHOICES WE MAKE.

WITH THE RIGHT CHOICES, WE CAN FINISH THE JOB OF REINVENTING FIRE AND IN THE PROCESS, WE WILL REINVENT COMMUNITY, WE WILL REINVENT HOPE, WE WILL MAKE PEACE WITH NATURE, AND ZEUS AND PROMETHEUS WILL BE RECONCILED.

 THANK YOU.