Recently, the world lost a ground-breaking mathematician renowned for his rational approach to the energy and climate discussion. On April 14, 2016, Sir David MacKay, 48, lost his battle with cancer.
In 2008, he self-published the book Sustainable Energy: Without the Hot Air and offered it as a free download on his website: http://www.withouthotair.com/. Bill Gates called this work “one of the best books on energy that has been written.”
MacKay described his motivations for writing his book in the preface.
“I didn’t write this book to make money. I wrote it because sustainable energy is important," he remarked. "Everyone says getting off fossil fuels is important, and we’re all encouraged to ‘make a difference,’ but many of the things that allegedly make a difference don’t add up . . . because people get emotional . . . and no one talks about numbers.”
MacKay’s TEDxWarwick talk, delivered to an audience in 2012, explores how much land would be required to power the United Kingdom if a 100 percent renewables plan was pursued—and why we should pursue these sustainable energy options nonetheless.
The business leader and philanthropist discusses the importance of energy to our modern lifestyles, and how innovation is necessary to address climate change.
It’s not just for academics, politicians and environmentalists—expect to hear a lot about climate action this year.
In the world's conversation about energy, one point is beyond debate: Energy makes a vital contribution to people's quality of life, to society and to human progress. This is true today, and it will remain true in the future. That's why Energy Matters was created. We believe it's important to equip people with unbiased information so they may form opinions, join the conversation and feel confidence in the work and accomplishments of the energy sector. Energy Matters is an initiative that provides transparent information and perspective on energy. Here, we'll cover a range of topics: the scale of global energy; the ways energy is sourced and produced; current energy technology; forthcoming innovations; the world's future energy needs; and the sustainable sources of energy that will fill them. Because energy matters to everyone, we hope you'll rely on Energy Matters as an ongoing source of balanced information.
