Solar, wind, and hydropower is on the lips of every environmentalist shouting it to the masses since the Gulf Oil Spill, but what about nuclear? Nuclear energy is starting to gain momentum as government officials look for new sources of energy. Now as you can see in this debate between Stewart Brand and Mark Jacobson, nuclear now has even die-hard environmentalists reconsidering it. In this first-ever TED debate, Stewart Brand and Mark Z. Jacobson square off over the pros and cons. A discussion that’ll make you think — and might even change your mind

Speakers –

Stewart Brand: Futurist

Founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, cofounder of the Well and the Long Now Foundation, writer, editor and game designer, Stewart Brand has helped to define the collaborative, data-sharing, forward-thinking world we live in now. 

Since the 1960s, he has maintained that — given access to the information we need — humanity can make the world a better place. One of his early accomplishments: helping to persuade NASA to release the first photo of the Earth from space. The iconic Big Blue Marble became the cover for his Whole Earth Catalog, a massive compendium of resources and facts he thought people might like to know. And we did: the 1972 edition sold 1.5 million copies. In 1987, he wrote The Media Lab: Inventing the Future at MIT; in 1994, How Buildings Learn. Currently Brand is working with computer scientist Danny Hillis to build the Clock of the Long Now, a 10,000-year timepiece; his Long Now Foundation also runs a number of spinoff projects, including the Rosetta Project, cataloguing the world’s languages, and the Long Bets website. He’s also busy with the Global Business Network (part of the Monitor Group), helping businesses plan for the near and way-far future.

His newest book is

Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto.

“…between 1968 and 1972, two communities began to mingle within blocks of the Whole Earth Catalog offices in Menlo Park. One, centered around the Stanford Research Institute and composed primarily of engineers, was devoted to the ongoing pursuit of increased human-computer integration. The other, clustered around the Catalog and the countercultural communities it served, focused on the pursuit of individual and collective transformation in a New Communalist vein. Stewart Brand positioned himself between these worlds and, in a variety of ways, brokered their encounter.”

From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the Rise of Digital Utopianism, by Fre

Mark Z. Jacobson: Civil and environmental engineer

Mark Z. Jacobson’s research looks at the causes and effects of vastly complex processes — the physics and chemistry of our atmosphere. He and his team at Stanford have pioneered new atmospheric research and analysis techniques that give a picture of the current state of our atmosphere, show what pollution from aerosols, ethanol, agriculture, and ultraviolet radiation are doing to it, and predict how these might affect the climate.

Jacobson developed the first interactive model showing the combined effects of gas, aerosols and radiative air-pollution on weather systems. He also discovered that black carbon — the main component of soot particles — may be the second-leading cause of global warming after carbon dioxide.

Jacobson’s group developed the world’s first wind map based on data at the height of modern wind turbines — serving as the scientific justification for major wind farm proposals in recent years.

“A large-scale wind, water and solar energy system can reliably supply the world’s needs, significantly benefiting climate, air quality, water quality, ecology and energy security … [T]he obstacles are primarily political, not technical.”

Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi, in Scientific American

From a previous post today about how we need to rethink the way we teach future generations about sustainability Boris Wiggers, a fellow friend sent me this video discussing how can we sustain the energy needs of our own country – as well as the rapidly multiplying markets of developing nations like China and India? In this video, The Future of Energy, Higher-education experts across the states share how they are working on new technologies to recover existing oil, alternative sources like nuclear and solar energy, and innovations like cleaner-burning coal plants. The best part of this video it show’s how some kids are getting involved with this problem, sharing their unique ideas with the world.

Out of all of the options provided in this video what do you think is the best options to supply a vast amount of clean energy?

The Future of Energy from State of Tomorrow on Vimeo.

Read more: Sanyo Unveils World’s Most Efficient Solar Module HIT-N230 | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World

Besides new and efficient solar panels there are other ways you and your community can get involved with solar while spending a minimal amount of money. 1Blog.org is a relatively new company that provides community the opportunity to receive group discounts on solar purchases. They are coming to Seattle but need more people to sign up, no commitment necessary. You can check out Seattle’s page on 1blog.org to find more information on how to get involved.

Greenopolis makes a very simple – yet powerful – promise to their users:

• Help you to recycle easily
• Help to save our natural resources for our children’s children
• Track conservation through recycling and re-use
• Educate and reward conservation

Through both the On-Line site of Greenopolis and their physical, On-Street presence of Greenopolis Recycling Kiosks, they allow customers to do actual, “trackable” good for the planet. They also try to make your everyday life better by offering rewards for helping the world and changing the way we handle natural resource and recyclables.

Take some time create an account and contribute some of your thoughts to their cause.

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