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Through the Eye of a Needle: An Eco-Heterodox Perspective on the Renewable Energy Transition Seibert, Megan K.; Rees, William E.

Abstract

We add to the emerging body of literature highlighting cracks in the foundation of the mainstream energy transition narrative. We offer a tripartite analysis that re-characterizes the climate crisis within its broader context of ecological overshoot, highlights numerous collectively fatal problems with so-called renewable energy technologies, and suggests alternative solutions that entail a contraction of the human enterprise. This analysis makes clear that the pat notion of “affordable clean energy” views the world through a narrow keyhole that is blind to innumerable economic, ecological, and social costs. These undesirable “externalities” can no longer be ignored. To achieve sustainability and salvage civilization, society must embark on a planned, cooperative descent from an extreme state of overshoot in just a decade or two. While it might be easier for the proverbial camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for global society to succeed in this endeavor, history is replete with stellar achievements that have arisen only from a dogged pursuit of the seemingly impossible.

Item Metadata

Title
Through the Eye of a Needle: An Eco-Heterodox Perspective on the Renewable Energy Transition
Creator
Seibert, Megan K.; Rees, William E.
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date Issued
2021-07-26
Description
We add to the emerging body of literature highlighting cracks in the foundation of the mainstream energy transition narrative. We offer a tripartite analysis that re-characterizes the climate crisis within its broader context of ecological overshoot, highlights numerous collectively fatal problems with so-called renewable energy technologies, and suggests alternative solutions that entail a contraction of the human enterprise. This analysis makes clear that the pat notion of “affordable clean energy” views the world through a narrow keyhole that is blind to innumerable economic, ecological, and social costs. These undesirable “externalities” can no longer be ignored. To achieve sustainability and salvage civilization, society must embark on a planned, cooperative descent from an extreme state of overshoot in just a decade or two. While it might be easier for the proverbial camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for global society to succeed in this endeavor, history is replete with stellar achievements that have arisen only from a dogged pursuit of the seemingly impossible.
Subject
renewable energy; energy transition; overshoot; biocapacity; ecological limits; social justice; sustainability
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-08-10
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
CC BY 4.0
DOI
10.14288/1.0401356
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/79241
Affiliation
Applied Science, Faculty of; Non UBC; Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of
Citation
Energies 14 (15): 4508 (2021)
Publisher DOI
10.3390/en14154508
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Other
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Rights

CC BY 4.0