We asked UK-based Youtuber Dave Borlace, producer and host of green ideas channel Just Have a Think, to share his top 5 examples of rapid transition that give evidence-based hope for a warming world.
This is as a great example of community based collective action to drive forward renewable energy production locally. Community projects are a really powerful way to capitalise on collective action and get involved in climate mitigation activities. The Rapid Transition Alliance community energy stories also provide some wider context on these movements around the world.
This is all about how collaboration between landowners and solar energy people can benefit farming, energy production and wildlife. Solar panels are placed in agricultural land so farmers can continue planting crops while also producing their own energy and even exporting some to the grid. Such systems can reduce water usage and protect crops, while enabling biodiversity to increase. You can find more stories on food, diet and water here on the Rapid Transition Alliance website.
In Dave’s view this is one of the very few legitimate uses for mass produced hydrogen in the future. He has found it could potentially reduce steelmaking GHG emissions from 8% of global total down to below 1%. Find out more about this technology and its role in rapid transition here.
Although still predicated on a ‘growth paradigm’, this analysis shows how market forces are allowing renewables to outperform fossil fuels in just about every metric. There are also some great graphics that explain energy developments really well. You can find more stories on energy transitions here.
This new way of desalinating seawater using wave motion in situ (therefore requiring no energy) could play a really important role, especially in areas like disaster relief or remote off grid locations in the global south.