Managing energy wrong14 January 2009
Walt was Friends of the Earth's very first Energy Campaigner (1972-1978). He came to the UK from Canada in 1960 and has worked here ever since.
As a trained nuclear physicist Walt has been a great ally for Friends of the Earth energy campaigners.
We caught up with him recently to find out what he's been up to.
What's up?
I have published 13 books and hundreds of papers, articles and reviews. They've covered nuclear power, electricity, coal technology, renewable energy and energy policy and systems.
Since 1991 I have been a fellow of the Energy, Environment and Development Programme in London.
I am also a visiting fellow of the Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex.
My new project is called Managing Energy: for climate and security. The first working paper is called "Managing Energy Wrong", which of course is what we now do.
Dealing with climate change means upgrading the entire human energy service infrastructure of the planet...Creating a wealth of new jobs and new businesses everywhere... Let's get people excited about this.
Walt Patterson
Can the Government promote renewables successfully whilst starting another nuclear building programme?
No. Unless the Government guarantees that taxpayers' money will somehow cover the many contingencies and risks, private finance will not build new nuclear plant
The Government will be too preoccupied. It is devoting all its political will to the slowest, most expensive, narrowest, most inflexible and riskiest option.
The most damaging cost of nuclear power is its opportunity cost.
Walt Patterson
What's your message to Friends of the Earth supporters?
Electricity is not about commodities. It's about infrastructure.
It's about long-term investment in the physical assets and technologies that deliver the services we want - comfort, illumination, motive power and so on.
The better the infrastructure, especially buildings, the less electricity we need to get clean, reliable services. That's what policy should be about.
Find out more
Walt's newest book is Keeping The Lights On: Towards Sustainable Electricity (Earthscan, £19.99). See http://www.waltpatterson.org/
Voodoo Economics and the Doomed Nuclear Renaissance Friends of the Earth report on building a new generation of nuclear power stations.
