Juggling Dynamite

A team of engineers headed by Marc Jacobson at Stanford have created the blueprints for countries to move to 100% renewable energy one city and country at a time. To read Jacobson’s detailed work to convert 139 countries, visit here.

Jacobson was recently interviewed by the Globe and Mail about the scientifically and economically doable plan for Canada, which you can read here. Also see this handy one page summary graphic from The Solutions Project which lays out the nuts and bolts (click on the map to display different countries).

Not pie in the sky fantasy– a doable transformation that will create well-paying jobs and enable a sustainable economy for generations to come.  See 100% renewable by 2050 is doable.  Yes we can.  Individuals can be part of the solution by supporting and embracing new habits and technologies that are here and now:

We’re talking large scale and distributed solar, wind power, use of existing (not new) hydro and other renewable sources such as geothermal. We’re talking about dramatically improving energy efficiency (think building retrofits and changing the requirements for new buildings) and re-thinking our transportation systems, including a massive scaling up of public systems.

The breakdown of energy sources by 2050 in Canada would include (from the infographic):

• Residential rooftop solar 1.5%
• Solar PV plant 17.7%
• Onshore wind 37.5%
• Commercial/govt rooftop solar 1.7%
• Wave energy 2%
• Geothermal 1.9%
• Hydroelectric 16.5%
• Tidal turbine 0.2%.

If you can get through the comically over-dramatized lead in for the show…much of the content of this discussion is worthwhile.  Also Koch industries is the sponsor of Wall Street Week so a pro-oil bias is baked in. That said, Bass offers some overview assessments on the US as the latest swing producer and is clear that he sees specialty opportunities in some sections of the energy capital structure and specifically distressed debt, but is not recommending that people try to pick individual energy stocks.

Episode 35 of Wall Street Week features Hayman Capital founder and principal Kyle Bass, who discusses the global economy, Federal Reserve policy, pharmaceutical patents and energy investments.  Here is a direct video link.

Laughable question of the day: “Is there any chance that the Fed can control asset bubbles?”

True answer: Control bubbles? The Fed created a series of asset bubbles over the last 16 years–tech wreck, housing wreck and QE mania– and the collateral damage of the third QE bubble is hitting the world now.

Past NBER President Martin Feldstein discusses the economy and Fed policy.  Here is a direct video link.