Chapter One

Collectively Preventing Self Destruction

One of the biggest surprises I’ve encountered in dealing
with people when I want to share information about energy
and the promise of nuclear energy, is that a strange thing
happens after the conversation. The people seem happier.
It never occurred to me that in general there are an
overwhelming number of people out there who have quietly
given up, who think there are no good solutions.
Scientifically literate people in particular take a dim view of
getting out of this mess. Most people are not going around
blissfully happy and totally ignorant of how serious things
have gotten. The feeling usually goes unspoken and rarely
gets acknowledged. I have concluded that most people
expect doomsday scenarios for our future. But many have
resolved themselves to the idea that the worst will happen
after they die and choose not to share their thoughts about
it and in other cases avoid thinking about it.
But if we want to be able to say we contribute, doing
nothing is an unrewarding path and places you in the
category of a wimpy, somewhat immoral and fatalistic
position. With our American way of life, where societal
change happens very gradually, it is easy to be convinced
that any effort we make to change things is futile. With so
many “God-fearing” christians, the real challenge they face
is remembering that the lives that matter are the people
who still remain when we are gone, and not our own place
in heaven. What ever way you look at it, we know large
numbers of people are already affected seriously by climate
extremes. Most people, especially seniors, feel they will die
before the worst happens. But if there was a way to reverse
this path to catastrophe would you push for it? Don’t you

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want the human race to thrive and prosper? I think that

was the appeal of shows like Star Trek. Writing about a
future when people have evolved and solved problems the
message live long and prosper has meaning, knowing our
existence continues with a high standard of living. The
people in Energy Reality are full of those who thoroughly
understand this. They respect the scientific method that
has brought us the wonders of technology that has
transformed our society. They also know the situation is
urgent and choosing a renewable path is like trying to cure
cancer with an aspirin.
Succeeding in preventing a disastrous future will be one
tremendously big undertaking. The current plan of the
people on the liberal side is not much of a plan. The
outrageous Green New Deal wants to increase usage of
renewable energy while eliminating coal by replacing it
with some unknown energy source, presumably replacing it
with natural gas. That’s only the goal of the left in North
America. The Republicans and Canadian Conservatives
have a different agenda. With Donald Trump muzzling
scientists and pretending climate change is not an issue
and Doug Ford and his colleagues in Canada pushing for no
carbon tax we have forces working against real change. I
propose that nuclear energy provides the solution we’ve
been looking for that both sides seek. Many countries say
they want to stop emissions but coal continues to be used at
an unacceptable rate1-1. As you will see reading on, this
presents a serious lack of vision. We need to be much more
analytical in prescribing solutions. The decision-makers are
letting green entrepreneurs set the policy. I will attempt to
clarify why this is a dangerous plan of action and how we
can get back on the correct path, closer to a vision we held
in the 1950s and 60s.

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 There are plenty of doomsday scenarios and it is not
easy to recognize what needs to be done without closely
studying the scope of the situation. It will involve dedicated
people to push for extreme measures. We don’t have the
strong leaders like Winston Churchill anymore who
understood how to motivate people into action. During the
Second World War after Britain had witnessed the horrific
bombings, the occupation of France and the retreat of the
Canadians, Winston Churchill finished his long speech 1-2
about how effectively Hitler had defeated so many and
seemed nearly unbeatable. Churchill wanted the bickering
and the unproductive babbling from critics to stop.
“… if we fail, then the whole world, including the United
States, including all that we have known and cared for, will
sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister,
and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted
science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and
so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its
Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say,
‘This was their finest hour.’”
Our dark age is upon us. The sinister aspect is hidden in
political and corporate agendas. Consequently, a similar
kind of challenge exists for us. I hope to show that the path
to remediate a sick planet is not so unattainable. We
humans, as a collective, need to prevent our existence from
evolving into a nightmare. As individuals we need to
change the way we think. If governments or corporations
want our support we can hold them accountable and insist
that they contribute. So “hope” is what I hope you will gain
after reading this book.
You might be surprised to find out how the things that
really matter to us, like the future for our children,
grandchildren and keeping ourselves employed, are also
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connected to this networking opportunity called the Energy

Reality Project1-3.
You may find that what’s missing, the thing that could
help you cope is a sense of unity, a feeling that we’re not
alone, that when our focus is absent that somebody is still
present pushing for the same basic needs. That’s why we
need to get real with energy and choose to become involved
with the Energy Reality Project.