The Big Picture with Avi Lewis: Online Discussion: CAN WE SAVE PLANET EARTH?

This program had one clear advantage over the "Global Warming; The Biggest Show on Earth" event last Monday in Vancouver, sponsored by Vancity to mark its 60th anniversary: There was real (give and take) discussion following presentation of the topic on the CBC.

The Vancouver program's talk by William Rees, UBC professor introduced the problem skilfully and "writer and consultant" Guy Dauncey also suggested solutions in a kind of speed reading exercise. Several people could ask a question after each talk, which was then responded to. Pretty normal these days, but I learned little (if anything substantial) new, since I was long informed on the problem. Noneless I learned quite a lot from the discussion following the Attenborough film in Avi Lewis' CBC program. Serious argument clearly was encouraged there. That may not be that easy to arrange locally, so this should be viewed more as special praise for the CBC program, than criticism of the Vancouver one; which was good, too.

But at the Vancouver event, I had inquired of a man manning a table at the back of the hall about an earlier event I had attended of his outfit, BCSEA (for BC Sustainable Energy Assn.); and the devices he used to avoid discussing it (while others stood nearby) were resourceful and determined. But maybe not surprising. They had had three speakers, the last of whom spoke of his company's intent to start to produce photovoltaic (PV) modules in which the sunlight incident on the PV cells is concentrated by (I believe line) focussing lenses. The same area of (expensive) PV cell could thus immediately provide several times as much electricity as in "flat plate" (one sun) mode, rather than having to wait years for marginal efficiency improvements. No attention was then paid to that speaker, just the other two.

I could only recall the one who spoke about "Sustainable Fossil Fuels", and this high office holder of the association just wanted me (and others) to join right there, with no questions to be asked. Needless to say that I did not join. That sort of avoiding discussion should not be associated with an organization like Vancity, which I had been happy to join and continue to be a happy member of.