I attended a recent energy and climate change symposium where a panel of big-brained experts did their damnedest to remain upbeat about the future. The panelists hemmed and hawed about the specifics, but they were reassuringly definitive about one point- the future will run on a mix of nuclear, solar, wind, carbon-sequestered clean coal, lithium batteries, cellulose bio fuels and some other cool stuff once an integrated smart grid becomes fully operational on a national basis.

Say what?

China adds a new power plant to its grid every week in a desperate attempt to avoid national blackout while green gurus in this country pin their hopes on energy solutions that only exist as scribbles on cocktail napkins. China’s power struggle is a wake up call for a planet where increasing numbers of humans grow increasingly dependent on light bulbs, water pumps and hard drives for basic survival. An exploding global middle class means the world will need another 18,000 power plants or their renewable equivalent by 2030 or else.

Although fossil fuels have fallen out of favor with the anti-carbon, pro-polar bear crowd, oil and coal remain the fudge brownies of the energy world. Renewables are hopelessly wimpy and unreliable compared to the industrial-strength high-carbon stuff. Wind and solar may be great for charging flashlights and operating small radios, but running something big like Las Vegas will take forests of wind turbines, mountains of minerals and countless acres of shrinking wilderness. The ultimate inconvenient truth is that using breezes and photons to keep 400 million air-conditioned comfort junkies happy might actually consume more planet than it saves.

Meeting exponential energy demand with shrinking resources is challenge enough for any Nobel scientist, but there is also the pesky problem of climate change looming on the near horizon.   In an unexpected plot twist,  it turns out that all those carbon dioxide molecules released since the Industrial Revolution retain heat better than river pebbles nestled around a campfire.

Who knew?

So here’s the deal.  If you keep burning carbon like there is no tomorrow the planet could be five or six degrees warmer by 2030. A hotter planet isn’t a pretty picture. Deserts advance. Harvests decline. Coastlines sink.  Millions displaced. That’s not the tequila talking. That is what hundreds of sober scientists say.  In a case of unprecedented scientific agreement, all of their independent findings can be summarized in a single sentence.

Cut your carbon emissions by 80% and make it snappy!

Decarbonizing modern life will take a leap of imagination equal to jumping from the Stone Age to the Space Age in less time than it takes a Chinese Olympic gymnast to reach puberty. Unless 400 million Americans start emitting carbon like 100 million Americans, families of flooded-out Inuit and Rastafarian eco-refugees will start camping in your backyard. Studies have shown that large refugee flows tend to have a negative effect on property values. No one is happy with the idea of swapping out the entire operating system of humanity in mid-stride, but it sure beats the alternative.

Use Less. Live Better.

Nearly half the energy you burn supports non-essential lifestyle pursuits such as maintaining image, seeking approval and flaunting status. Even the energy used for life’s essentials, like food and heat, is wasted with utter impunity. If you’re like most people (and you are) 30% of the food you buy goes into a landfill unconsumed. Every lettuce leaf moldering in your vegetable drawer took gobs of energy to cultivate, package and transport. If your home is like most (and it is) 40% of the energy you use is lost to stupid human tricks like staring blankly into the refrigerator and leaving lights on in empty rooms. At least your SUV is a hybrid, right?

Not to add any pressure to your already awesome planetary responsibilities, but you’re decades behind and countless dimes short. Your journey to energy sobriety will not be easy, but it must begin in earnest. No more impulse drives to the mall for another aimless afternoon of aisle browsing. No more scraping energy saturated leftovers into the trash because you’re in the mood for something new. And absolutely positively no more waiting for green gurus and gridlocked politicians to agree on a plan to build a fully-integrated smart grid someday. There is too much at stake. Your low-carbon future begins when you plug into the smart grid you were born with. If you start today there is just enough time.

Contact Andy Dumaine at andy@shrinkingfootprint.com to discuss strategies and tools to help you do more with less.