In his New Book,
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, Bill Gates takes a Technology-centered approach to understanding the Climate Crisis. Gates begins with the 51 Billion Tons of Greenhouse Gases that People create each year. He slices this Pollution into Sectors by the size of their Footprints, working his way from: Electricty, Manufacturing, Agriculture, to Transportation and Buildings. Throughout, Gates is adept at cutting through the Complexity of the Climate Challenge, giving the Reader handy Heuristics to Distinguish between the bigger Technology Problems, like Cement, and the smaller ones, like Airplanes.
At the Paris Climate Negotiations in 2015, Bates and Several dozen other Wealthy People launched
Breakthrough Energy, an Interlinked Venture Capital Fund, Lobbying Group, and Research effort. Gates and his fellow Investors argued that both the Federal Government and the Private Sectorare Underinvesting in Energy Innovation. Breakthrough aims to fill some of this Gap, Funding everthing fron Next-Generation Nuclear Technology to Fake Meat that tastes more like Beef. The Venture Fund's S1 Billion First Round has had some Early Successes, like
Impossible Foods, a maker of Plant-Based Burgers. The Fund announced a Second Round of Equal size in January 2021.
A paralled effort, an International Pact called
Mission Innovation, says it has Persuaded its Members, The Executive Branch of the European Union along with 24 Countries including: China, Brazil, India, and the U.S., to Commit an Additional $4.6 Billion every yearsince 2015 to Clean Energy Research and Development.
Gates is Investing in Nuclear Fission. One Company
TerraPowerjust got a huge U.S. Government Contract to Devlop that Reactor, called
NatriumA lot of People would say a Storage Miracle and some would say Super-Cheap, Clean Hydrogen. It requires the Cheapest Electricity in the World and the Cheapest Capital Cost in the World, if you're going to do it through Electrolyzers Cracking Water.
That coud work, but we can't count on it. You can't just Focus on One thing, because you may hit a Dead End, just like we may Not get Fusion or Next-Generation Fission or the Storage Miracle.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
