Energy, Environment, Philosophy and a Couple of Related (not only summer) Videos

By Andrej Nosko

It is summer. According to the calendar also in Brussels, and although the heating season in Europe is out of sight (well, its not too warm here in Brussels, but heating is not required, at least not yet), with the increasing temperature swings, and the requirements for air conditioning energy consumption does not decrease too much. People travel more, go on holidays, politicians go on their long summer holidays, so it may be appropriate to provide also our readers with bit lighter 'summer post.' Here it comes, after bit more philosophical beginning, there is a selection of energy related videos (some even bit lighter). So just kick off your shoes, turn on the fan, grab a cooled refreshment and see the more interactive side of energy.

This first video is actually rather long (30min) presentation by (or rather of) Al Gore. His usual message. Lots of words.

I do not want to endorse Al Gore, I would rather like to offer a complementary reading, to balance the opinions, You our dear reader can make up your mind for yourself, as a teaser here is an excerpt:

"This small example of environmental atavism reveals a more fundamental aspect of the public discourse about climate change. At the core of environmentalist animus [...] is a categorical suspicion about technology itself, which is connected to a larger philosophical pessimism about human civilization and man’s supposed separation or alienation from nature. We have seen this style of argument during the long controversy over the arms race in the late stages of the Cold War, during which the immense political and technical aspects of the problem were, for a certain cast of mind, entirely subsumed beneath a more general critique of how the arms race was merely symptomatic of a larger crisis of civilization. Unless this larger crisis was addressed, it was suggested, there would be no hope the arms race could be solved.

It was not but twenty years ago that the large nuclear weapons arsenals of the superpowers threatened the instantaneous destruction of civilization and perhaps human life itself. Today, climate change is said to threaten the same things, only more slowly. It is remarkable how similarly the leading advocates for these two problems understand and conceptualize them. In the case of both the arms race then and climate change today, we are told that the issue is ultimately philosophical in nature, and that wholesale changes in our philosophical perspective must necessarily precede political and policy remedies to the problem. Should this perspective be taken seriously? What can it really mean?"

I recommend reading the whole thing here. Okay, its bit long and I know that it's not entirely summery and light, but philosophy and seeing things in wider context is often important to be able to tell BS and possible also see hidden agendas. (Without referring to anything in particular, of course)

For some reason when I saw the following commercial of Vatenfall AB, it reminded me of... well, see for yourself, if it reminds you of anything.


We like to buy stuff, when we feel guilty, just as this commercial points out:

If you feel guilty about your carbon footprint you can buy unlimited amount of clean consciousness here.

Here is a totally new and alternative source of energy, I have never heard of it before:


And finally two 'summer energy music hits' :


And another bit more energetic version of the same song:

Here is lyrics that comes with it (original by NFX):

One source of energy the ultimate discovery electric blue for me never more to be free electricity nuclear and H.E.P. Carbon fuels from the sea wasted electricity.

One source of energy electricity all we need to live today a gift for man to throw away the chances has nearly gone the alternative is one final source of energy solar electricity.