♩ Let’s go out in a blaze of glory

by Kenny Rogers.

Love Affair with Fossil Fuel

Our legendary affair with fossil fuels has set the world ablaze.

Before fossil fuels took off, Earth had a billion people, most of them in crushing poverty. These folks could not have imagined what we have to day.  A population and quality of life EXPLOSION. Seven billion people and counting, billions with an awesome quality of life. And here’s to getting everyone out of poverty by 2030.

Fossil fuels have played a big part in this upgrade, but we can’t ignore the downside any more. It’s time to end the affair and switch to alternatives. But how?

Two ways to go out in a blaze of glory

Out in a blaze of glory? What’s that supposed to mean?

The first way is the most obvious. Have one last incendiary blast with fossil fuels. Burn it up! All up! End the human race in a wonderful pyre! Drive your SUV to the very last mile, then get out and explode it! Don’t look at the explosion, just walk away, in to your own sunset.

The second way is…we can’t have one last incendiary blast with fossils fuels. We’re already going down in flames! The planet is already being destroyed with heat. Is “All good things must end” about our civilization? Is that supposed to be comforting?!!

No, of course not. Here’s what it means. We make the transition out of fossils in a blaze of glory. A ONE TIME, EPIC SWITCH. An economic orgy. A global reboot. An explosion of institutional, technological, social and financial recalibration. A frenzy of accounting. Executed in a spirit of celebration, joy, closure. We become the great “Switch Generation.” Thereafter, fossil fuels go into the “friend zone.” We stop burning like lovers. We interact with them in a limited, sustainable way. Thank you fossils, for a glorious ride and an even more glorious exit.

For a road map of how to take your State through that epic switch, check out the zero carbon playbook.