Mike Williams, host of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s program One Planet, interviewed United States Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu this past week. In the discussion, Secretary Chu argues that “the consequences of business as usual could be catastrophic [and that] we must change our way of thinking about consumption.” He goes on to say that humans must decrease their consumption of energy. According to his view, humans have wasted significant amounts of energy due to an era of cheap energy. One of the main steps to achieve reduction or consumption is to address the waste, which he sees happening through efficiency measures and taking care of so-called low-hanging fruit.

When Mr. Williams pressed Mr. Chu on the issue of the Kyoto Protocol, the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, and legally binding targets to cut emissions, the secretary would not commit the United States ahead of the meeting, but expressed his hope. Mr. Williams went on to make the claim that China is taking the lead on carbon emissions reductions. Mr. Chu stated his support for working with the Chinese to “co-develop technology” in order to improve efficiencies in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Although no race to space style competition exist, Mr. Chu says he would like one in order to push these technologies forward.

One major obstacle remains. As the host points out, history shows economic preservation always come before environmental concerns. Whether change can be achieved before irreversible, deleterious effects of climate change take hold remains to be seen.

- Eric Wilson