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# Vision of Earth

Shaping a happy, healthy, and prosperous future

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://www.visionofearth.org/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Morph My City Report - Transforming Regina: Planning for 2040 and beyond](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/morph-city-report/) - The Vision of Earth team is proud to have been selected as finalists for the Morph My City 2040 Competition. Today we present our findings at the National Infrastructure Summit in Regina. This morning we are pleased to publish our report detailing the full results of our analysis (PDF, 114 pages). We believe these ideas
- [Morph My City Report - Transforming Regina: Planning for 2040 and beyond](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/morph-city-report/) - The Vision of Earth team is proud to have been selected as finalists for the Morph My City 2040 Competition. Today we present our findings at the National Infrastructure Summit in Regina. This morning we are pleased to publish our report detailing the full results of our analysis (PDF, 114 pages). We believe these ideas
- [Software tools that we use to collaborate across the world](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/software-tools-that-we-use-to-collaborate-across-the-world/) - Vision of Earth now has volunteers and contributors from Canada, the United States, and Germany. Additionally, many of the people we are networking with are similarly spread out geographically. Yet even with these distances, we remain in very close contact with each other. Very often we choose to work simultaneously on the same project, speaking
- [Peace, governance, and civilization: Reflections on the Paris Peace Forum](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/peace-governance-and-civilization/) - During the course of my life, I’ve become increasingly interested in peace. How is it made? How is it maintained? How is it destroyed? From a young age, I was deeply influenced by my father’s interest in history and the Remembrance Day (November 11th) events by the Canadian Legion. However, despite many earnest attempts to
- [Power system performance metrics](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/power-system-performance-metrics/) - People familiar with the work of Vaclav Smil will know this criteria as 'power density'. One of the only criticisms that we level at Smil's work is that he tends to overstate the significance of power density when considering possible future plans for our society's energy future. We acknowledge that power density is a very important
- [Critique of Center for Freedom and Prosperity’s video featuring Dan Mitchell](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/critique-of-center-for-freedom-and-prosperitys-video-featuring-dan-mitchell/) - This piece is a critique of a video featuring Dan Mitchell of the Cato Institute created by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, a flat-tax lobbying group from the United States. This video was brought to our attention during a discussion about tax rates in Canada even though the video itself is discussing taxes in
- [Coal power: Pollution, politics, and profits](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/coal-power-pollution-politics-and-profits/) - Heat into electricity The combustion of coal has been used to generate electricity since early in the industrial era. Heat produced by burning coal is used to drive a heat engine, which usually utilizes steam to drive electric turbines ((Wikipedia: Steam engine)). Since humans first began to use coal to produce electricity we have developed much
- [Coal power: Pollution, politics, and profits](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/coal-power-pollution-politics-and-profits/) - Heat into electricity The combustion of coal has been used to generate electricity since early in the industrial era. Heat produced by burning coal is used to drive a heat engine, which usually utilizes steam to drive electric turbines ((Wikipedia: Steam engine)). Since humans first began to use coal to produce electricity we have developed much
- [Coal power: Pollution, politics, and profits](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/coal-power-pollution-politics-and-profits/) - Heat into electricity The combustion of coal has been used to generate electricity since early in the industrial era. Heat produced by burning coal is used to drive a heat engine, which usually utilizes steam to drive electric turbines ((Wikipedia: Steam engine)). Since humans first began to use coal to produce electricity we have developed much
- [Capitalism’s Labour Transitions - An Argument for Social Welfare](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/capitalisms-labour-transitions-an-argument-for-social-welfare/) - Capitalism relies on innovation, labour transitions, and personal advancement opportunities in order to function. Labour transitions lead to economic hardship and social stress for all sectors of society. These effects are felt most keenly by the poor, who are least able to effectively transition to new employment when such action becomes necessary. This article explores
- [Capitalism’s Labour Transitions - An Argument for Social Welfare](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/capitalisms-labour-transitions-an-argument-for-social-welfare/) - Capitalism relies on innovation, labour transitions, and personal advancement opportunities in order to function. Labour transitions lead to economic hardship and social stress for all sectors of society. These effects are felt most keenly by the poor, who are least able to effectively transition to new employment when such action becomes necessary. This article explores
- [31 Ways to Reduce Paper Usage](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/31-ways-to-reduce-paper-usage/) - Why should we care about our paper usage? For me the key points are that it is an expensive, impermanent storage medium that is made primarily out of those wondrous things we call trees. Expensive Americans are the heaviest paper users in the world, with an estimated average yearly per capita consumption of paper products
- [A Very Long Peace: Potential solutions to armed conflict found in global governance?](https://www.visionofearth.org/politics/long-peace-potential-solutions-armed-conflict-global-governance/) - In our work on the cooperation possibility frontier, we have demonstrated that as the framework for coordination and trust between nations increases, so too does our threshold for solving problems of a global nature. It is in humanity's best interest to expand this frontier - thus improving global cooperation and coordination. But there is only
- [Six simple ways to help the rainforests](https://www.visionofearth.org/live-green/simple-ways-rainforests/) - Often times, when facing big issues that threaten our survival on the planet, it can seem that there’s not much average people can do to help. For example, in our series on global governance, we’ve talked about the need for cooperation among states, and that might not feel super actionable to the reader. The destruction
- [Six simple ways to help the rainforests](https://www.visionofearth.org/live-green/simple-ways-rainforests/) - Often times, when facing big issues that threaten our survival on the planet, it can seem that there’s not much average people can do to help. For example, in our series on global governance, we’ve talked about the need for cooperation among states, and that might not feel super actionable to the reader. The destruction
- [The cooperation possibility frontier](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/cooperation-possibility-frontier/) - Last year, we helped write a paper about the future of global governance. (( Harack, B., Laskowski, K., Bailey, R., Marcotte, J., Jaques, S., Datta, D., and Kuski, S., 2017. Ruling Ourselves: The deliberate evolution of global cooperation and governance. Available online: http://rulingourselves.com )) As we researched and brainstormed ideas for that paper, we found ourselves continually confronted
- [Nuclear Myth and Fact Project](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/nuclear-myth-and-fact-project/) - Nuclear Power: Our First Major Project In October 2008, the Uranium Development Partnership committee was formed by the government of Saskatchewan. We noted that the mandate of the committee was to recommend the best ways for Saskatchewan to enjoy prosperity by developing nuclear industries. We also noted that the committee seemed to be filled primarily
- [Publicly Administered Green Energy Futures](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/publicly-administered-green-energy-futures/) - This article is an attempt to clarify the details of our proposal for citizen involvement in SaskPower's infrastructure investments. For the original and much shorter version see our post on publicly owned renewable energy. Why private ownership? SaskPower still owns most of the power generating infrastructure in Saskatchewan. Our evaluation of trends in SaskPower's development tells
- [How much do humans need to cooperate in order to survive?](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/humans-cooperate-order-survive/) - Existential risks are thorny problems. They generally can’t be solved by one person working alone. Success will almost certainly require deep cooperation among all countries. In fact, existential risks can be categorized according to how much cooperation is needed to avoid them. Mass cooperation without an explicit structure might work for some types of risk
- [University of Regina graduates envision global governance that works](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/press-releases/university-regina-graduates-envision-global-governance-works/) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Volunteer group made semifinals for $5 million governance prize Regina, Saskatchewan, May 21st — Graduates from the University of Regina have envisioned a practical path forward for global governance. Hailing from across Saskatchewan, they banded together in 2017 in the hopes that fresh eyes and hard work could improve the state of
- [University of Regina graduates envision global governance that works](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/press-releases/university-regina-graduates-envision-global-governance-works/) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Volunteer group made semifinals for $5 million governance prize Regina, Saskatchewan, May 21st — Graduates from the University of Regina have envisioned a practical path forward for global governance. Hailing from across Saskatchewan, they banded together in 2017 in the hopes that fresh eyes and hard work could improve the state of
- [Why do we need global governance?](https://www.visionofearth.org/social-change/global-governance/) - Global governance is necessary because humanity increasingly faces both problems and opportunities that are global in scale. Today, transnational problems such as violence and pandemics routinely reach across borders, affecting us all. At the same time, the increasingly integrated global system has also laid the necessary foundations for peace and spectacular prosperity. Effective global governance
- [What is global governance?](https://www.visionofearth.org/politics/global-governance-2/) - We speak a lot about global governance, but what exactly does "global governance" mean? Roughly speaking, global governance refers to governance on a global scale. While the concept seems simple in theory, it can take many forms in practice. National governments come in many shapes and sizes. But global governance, as we shall see, is
- [Between here and there: Technologies required for visiting and colonizing Mars](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/humanitys-future-in-space/technologies-required-colonizing-mars/) - We have previously discussed what resources are necessary to sustain an offworld colony on Mars, but not the specific technologies that are needed to provide for those needs. Developing or improving these technologies have filled the lives of many scientists and engineers for the past half century, and will enable the lives of Mars colonists.
- [Ruling ourselves: The deliberate evolution of global cooperation and governance](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/ruling-ourselves/) - Some of our readers may have been wondering what we’ve been up to over the past year. Certainly, there haven’t been many posts to this website for quite some time. Putting aside the lack of posts for now (suffice to say we’ll be making a return soon) we’d like to share with our readers the
- [Fact sheet on Canada Post lockout: Conservatives launch blitzkrieg on unions](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/fact-sheet-on-canada-post-lockout-conservatives-launch-blitzkrieg-on-unions/) - The Canadian House of Commons was recently locked in an entrenched debate regarding the back-to-work legislation for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). We at Vision of Earth encourage readers who are short on time to use the table of contents on the left to navigate this document to those sections of interest to
- [How to argue with trolls and extremists](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/how-to-argue-with-trolls-and-extremists/) - We recently published a piece on how trolls and extremists are damaging our public discourse. Today we are going to talk about what each of us can do to stop them from hijacking the majority of discussions in our society. Focus on people, not trolls It is possible to address the issues raised by a troll
- [How to argue with trolls and extremists](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/how-to-argue-with-trolls-and-extremists/) - We recently published a piece on how trolls and extremists are damaging our public discourse. Today we are going to talk about what each of us can do to stop them from hijacking the majority of discussions in our society. Focus on people, not trolls It is possible to address the issues raised by a troll
- [How trolls and extremists are damaging our public discourse](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/how-trolls-and-extremists-are-damaging-our-public-discourse/) - Update: New post on how to argue with trolls and extremists. What is a troll? Basically a troll is a person looking for a response. They are looking to get noticed. Trolls are often distinctly inflammatory and extreme in what they express, and they do this deliberately. Belief systems vary greatly, and the difference between
- [The foundations of personal change](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/ben-harack/the-foundations-of-personal-change/) - How do we change as people? Why do we change as people? This work is intended to be an earnest discussion of the realities of personal change. As examples I have included some of my personal experiences of change. I start off with a look at cognitive dissonance, and then move on to personal change
- [Fixing our media hypnosis](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/fixing-our-media-hypnosis/) - We have an ever-accelerating journalism cycle that is making mistakes, shortening our attention spans, presenting opinion as news, and trivializing our political debates. We are learning that even though we have an unimaginable wealth of information at our fingertips, our trust can be easily misplaced. How do we fix the problem? Ideally we would see a transformation of
- [How can you deliberately change your society?](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/how-can-you-deliberately-change-your-society/) - Societies are comprised of individuals. When societies change, each person is changed in some of the ways discussed in our article about what makes people change and why. In theory, we could simply apply all of the personal change principles to each member of a population. However, that path would lead us to an incomplete picture
- [Personal and social change for a green energy future](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/personal-and-social-change-for-a-green-energy-future/) - The question is: what can we do to be more in harmony with the environment? The answers we present here are intended to be practical, but they rely on assumptions about what we consider to be 'green'. We want to recommend practices that will have a positive effect, but do not really affect our quality
- [What are the necessities of an existentially independent offworld colony?](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/humanitys-future-in-space/necessities-of-existentially-independent-offworld-colony/) - Self-sufficient human colonies beyond Earth are necessary for humanity to survive into the distant future. Building them will not be easy, as many scientific and technological challenges still remain. Here we will focus on what is needed to create an offworld society that is capable of surviving and thriving on its own. We’ll use Mars
- [What are the necessities of an existentially independent offworld colony?](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/humanitys-future-in-space/necessities-of-existentially-independent-offworld-colony/) - Self-sufficient human colonies beyond Earth are necessary for humanity to survive into the distant future. Building them will not be easy, as many scientific and technological challenges still remain. Here we will focus on what is needed to create an offworld society that is capable of surviving and thriving on its own. We’ll use Mars
- [What are the necessities of an existentially independent offworld colony?](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/humanitys-future-in-space/necessities-of-existentially-independent-offworld-colony/) - Self-sufficient human colonies beyond Earth are necessary for humanity to survive into the distant future. Building them will not be easy, as many scientific and technological challenges still remain. Here we will focus on what is needed to create an offworld society that is capable of surviving and thriving on its own. We’ll use Mars
- [What are the necessities of an existentially independent offworld colony?](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/humanitys-future-in-space/necessities-of-existentially-independent-offworld-colony/) - Self-sufficient human colonies beyond Earth are necessary for humanity to survive into the distant future. Building them will not be easy, as many scientific and technological challenges still remain. Here we will focus on what is needed to create an offworld society that is capable of surviving and thriving on its own. We’ll use Mars
- [Know your enemy: Saving the world requires humble diligent thought](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/know-your-enemy-saving-world-requires-humble-diligent-thought/) - The end of humanity is difficult to contemplate. Merely having a coherent discussion about existential risks requires that we arm ourselves with effective habits of thought and cultivate a resilient disposition. Let’s muster our courage and talk about a few of the main challenges we humans face when we try to confront the problem of
- [The moral imperative of averting existential risks](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/moral-imperative-averting-existential-risks/) - Existential risks are bad. Stopping human extinction is good. Without getting too deep into philosophy, let's talk about why we believe these things. Most people would agree that human life is a good thing, and that the death of a human is a bad thing. In case you don't hold this belief, I recommend these
- [Occupy heaven: The vast potential of humanity if we can safeguard our future](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/occupy-heaven-potential-humanity-safeguard-future/) - Earlier, we discussed how humanity’s long term survival requires that we thrive. Now we'll explore what the scale of humanity's potential might be if we succeed. These thoughts will help us get a sense of just how much is at stake when we consider the dangers of existential risks. Here we will only focus on
- [Humanity must flourish to survive](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/humanity-flourish-survive/) - We live in a universe that is very hostile to life as we know it. The only habitable place we’ve found so far is the place we grew up: a thin layer atop the surface of the Earth. This is an incredibly small fraction of all volume in the known universe. Even if we make
- [What will cause human extinction: Natural disaster or human folly?](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/what-will-cause-human-extinction-natural-disaster-or-human-folly/) - Existential risks can be divided into two groups: those that are caused by nature and those that are caused by humans (also known as anthropogenic risks). Natural risks come from the physical processes of the Earth, sun, and universe at large. These events have always been a danger to all life on Earth, including humanity.
- [The difference between existential risks and global catastrophic risks](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/existential-risks-vs-global-catastrophic-risks/) - A global catastrophic risk is a possible future event that would cause severe harm to humans on a global scale. ((Wikipedia: Global Catastrophic Risk.)) An existential risk is a global catastrophic risk that has a chance of rendering humanity extinct. ((Bostrom, N. (2013). Existential risk prevention as global priority. Global Policy, 4(1), 15-31.)) One example
- [Why humanity must build independent colonies beyond Earth](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/humanitys-future-in-space/humanity-must-build-independent-colonies-beyond-earth/) - Humanity faces multiple existential threats that are planetary in scale. Currently, most threats are from nature, but in the near future we’re likely to create new risks. Most of these disasters could directly affect everyone on the Earth, but their destructive power cannot reach out across the void of space. A hypothetical independent human colony
- [Know yourself: Cognitive biases undermining the study of existential risks](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/know-yourself-cognitive-biases-undermining-study-existential-risks/) - Humans tend to make mistakes when thinking about existential risks. Part of the problem is that risk assessment is very difficult when risks are complex and far in the future. However, even if we acknowledge that difficulty and begin to diligently work towards averting risks, we still have to learn to think clearly. This turns
- [What does "Being Alive" mean to you?](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/being-alive/) - What does "Being Alive" mean to you? What is the value of a human life? Is human life precious? There are many different answers to these questions - but here’s one way to think about them. Recall, or imagine, yourself waking up in the morning. The groggy feeling, the sleepiness, the feeling of soreness, unwillingness
- [Chevron Oil Spill off the BC Coast](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/bcoilspill/) - Oil Spill Near Vancouver Apparently Chevron waited a month before informing the public about an oil, gas, and diesel leak into the Burrard Inlet in Burnaby, BC. However, it appears that they are actually following the regulations for such a leak. Locals are questioning both the direct effect on their habitat, and the ramifications of
- [Saskatchewan’s Energy Future](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/saskatchewans-energy-future-2/) - Public Inquiry In 2009, the government of Saskatchewan launched a public inquiry into the energy needs of the province. To this end the Standing Committee on Crown and Central Agencies invited interested people and groups to present talks and to table documents on the subject. In 2009, the Vision of Earth team attended several of
- [Our unfriendly universe: Risks of human extinction by nature](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/unfriendly-universe-risks-human-extinction-nature/) - Nature harbours many existential risks. Here we describe several of the most likely natural risks and establish rough estimates for their likelihood. For each type of event, we will use a single probability to represent the odds that such an event will result in the complete extinction of humanity during a given period of time.
- [Our unfriendly universe: Risks of human extinction by nature](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/unfriendly-universe-risks-human-extinction-nature/) - Nature harbours many existential risks. Here we describe several of the most likely natural risks and establish rough estimates for their likelihood. For each type of event, we will use a single probability to represent the odds that such an event will result in the complete extinction of humanity during a given period of time.
- [Cooperate or perish: Minimal levels of collaboration needed to save the world](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/cooperate-perish-minimal-levels-collaboration-needed-save-world/) - One way to quantify the danger posed by an existential risk is to examine how much countries will need to cooperate in order to avoid it. Since successful avoidance of an existential risk can be considered a public good (something that benefits the well-being of all members of a society) we can borrow some terminology
- [Demand side management to help build a renewable power grid](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/demand-side-management-to-help-build-a-renewable-power-grid/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review In the context of electricity, demand side management is the deliberate modification of consumer demand for power through various methods such as fiscal incentives or education. ((Wikipedia: Energy Demand Management. Accessed December 7th, 2010.)) These efforts are traditionally undertaken by governments, utilities, and interested non-governmental organizations. Today, demand side management
- [What is an existential risk?](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/what-is-an-existential-risk/) - An existential risk is a possible future event that could potentially cause the extinction of humans or the permanent destruction of our ability to thrive. ((Bostrom, N., 2002. Existential risks. Journal of Evolution and Technology 9.)) Some existential risks come from nature. Large-scale volcanic events, asteroid impacts, and gamma-ray bursts could have rendered humans extinct
- [How likely is human extinction due to a natural pandemic?](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/human-extinction-by-natural-pandemic/) - A pandemic is the rapid spread of an infectious disease across a large region. Global pandemics will likely occur in the future, but their danger is very hard to estimate. So far, pandemics have received far more attention than other natural existential threats and our analysis below indicates that this level of attention is appropriate.
- [Feed-In Tariff Proposal for Saskatchewan](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/feed-in-tariff-proposal-for-saskatchewan/) - Introduction A Feed-in-Tariff is a policy mechanism designed to provide an incentive for development of a desired type. Typical implementations of feed-in-tariffs for power generation usually involve guaranteed long term prices for electricity generated and guaranteed grid access. This means that if a person or company builds this type of desired generation, they are guaranteed
- [Wind Power: The Whole Story](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/wind-power/) - “Wind Power” is the extraction of energy from the wind. Common techniques use a tower with a set of propeller blades that will spin when wind blows against them. Wind power is a renewable form of energy because wind is caused by the uneven heating of the earth by the sun. World Potential The earth’s wind
- [Coal Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/coal-power/) - Generating Electricity Coal is used to generate electricity by burning it. The heat is then used to run a heat engine, which utilizes water steam to turn electric turbines. Coal was the fuel that started the industrial revolution, and it's use continues to grow today. Coal-fired electricity production accounts for more electricity than any other
- [Hydroelectricity](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/hydroelectricity/) - Hydroelectric power generation is the act of using moving water to generate power. Historically this was done using paddle wheels in streams to turn grinding stones for making grain flour. Today, most hydroelectric dams are of a larger scale. A hydro dam location is chosen because it has a large amount of flowing water that can
- [Energy Storage](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/energy-storage/) - 'Energy storage' can refer to either the process of saving some form of energy for later use, or the physical infrastructure required to do so. Energy is critical to every accomplishment of humans. This energy can take many forms. If you are interested in only specific forms of energy, you can click on a section
- [Radiation: Key Terms and Definitions](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/radiation-key-terms-and-definitions/) - Activity The activity of a piece of radioactive material (called a 'source') is a measure of how many radioactive decays taking place per second. If you compare two uranium sources for instance, the one with the higher activity would be emitting more energy. There are three kinds of radioactive decays: alpha, beta and gamma. Alpha
- [Energy: Key Terms and Definitions](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/energy-key-terms-and-definitions/) - Energy Energy is a concept that represents the amount of physical work that can be done by a certain system. For instance, a tank of gasoline has a certain amount of energy that can be released by burning it to achieve useful results, like moving a car a long distance. The concept of energy is
- [Critique of Saskatchewan’s UDP Report](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/critique-of-saskatchewans-udp-report-2/) - The Uranium Development Partnership (UDP) is a ministerial advisory committee established in October 2008 for the purpose of analyzing the economic feasibility of all forms of uranium development in Saskatchewan. On Friday April 3rd, the final report was released to the public containing recommendations which can be summarized as follows: Accommodate the mining sector that
- [Nuclear Power: The Whole Story](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/nuclear-power-the-whole-story/) - Electrical power production using a nuclear power source is accomplished through the heat produced by bringing greater than a specific amount of radioactive material together. Water is heated to create steam, which in turn spins turbines to generate electricity. Greater quantities or concentrations of nuclear material produce more heat. The higher the temperature of the
- [New Look for Vision of Earth!](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/bens-newest-news-item/) - Ben and Alana have been hard at work on the website, which you hopefully see is taking shape. We are still using a Wordpress back end, but have now moved to the Arras theme. We are currently working on a Forum system. Stay posted for new updates.
- [Chevron's Orphan Basin Project Under Scrutiny](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/chevrons-orphan-basin-project-under-scrutiny/) - Chevron says that it would not be able to clean up if its proposed deep sea rig off the coast of Newfoundland had a similar disaster to that currently happening in the Gulf of Mexico. They estimate extremely small possibilities of any major spills, but there are valid concerns about the sheer scale of what
- [Vision of Earth’s New Forum](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/vision-of-earths-new-forum/) - Forum for contribution and discussion UPDATE: The forum has been removed from the site. We now have a new forum. You can get there at any time by clicking the "Forum" link near the top of the page. The forum in its current state was designed by Ben with the help of the rather impressive
- [New Server for Vision of Earth](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/new-server-for-vision-of-earth/) - Due to some server troubles, we were down for several days earlier in the month. Our webmaster took this opportunity to look into our hosting options. The new solution that he has implemented is a virtual machine hosted on servers directly connected to an Internet backbone in Freemont, California. It is our expectation that this
- [Before Vision of Earth Existed](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/before-vision-of-earth-existed/) - Compelling ideas of what might be possible In 2007, many of us had our reasons to be discontent with the state and direction of our society. This is not to say that we were not grateful to be living in such wondrous times in a country of great affluence. We were acutely aware even then
- [What does ‘renewable’ mean after all?](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/what-does-‘renewable’-mean-after-all/) - If you think of renewable sources of energy you probably think of things like wind turbines, solar panels, biomass plants, and hydroelectric plants. However, these are just examples. What does it mean to be renewable? Power From The Sun Most forms of renewable energy have the sun as their original source. All the various forms
- [Nuclear Plants Need Backup Generators](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/nuclear-plants-need-backup-generators/) - Nuclear Plants Do Need Backup Generation, Just Like All Other Power Sources A power utility has to have the capability of calling into service enough power to make up for the loss of its largest generator on short notice. For a nuclear generator, this would be between 300 and 2000 MW. In our home province
- [Mining Corporation vs. El Salvador](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/mining-corporation-vs-el-salvador/) - Canadian mining companies are the apparent villain in a number of central and south american mining disputes lately. Copper Mesa Mining Corporation, formerly known as Ascendant Copper is the major player in a recent documentary film called Under Rich Earth. The film is highly recommended for anyone interested in the conflict between the people of Ecuador
- [Review of 'The Measure of Man'](https://www.visionofearth.org/media/books/review-of-the-measure-of-man/) - This book was published in 1954, amid what the author, Dr. Joseph Wood Krutch, calls 'The Age of Anxiety'. The world had just suffered through two wars that heavily eroded the optimism that had existed at the beginning of the 20th century. The tremendous destruction had seriously shaken the ideals of the world. This led
- [Does nuclear power cost more than other options?](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/does-nuclear-power-cost-more-than-other-options/) - While some variants of nuclear power plants are estimated to cost up to five times as much as competing technologies such as minimally-compliant coal power, these are extreme examples. Most populations will not allow minimally-compliant coal plants to be built because of their substantially dangerous pollution as well as radioactivity levels far above those of
- [Does nuclear waste last millions of years?](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/does-nuclear-waste-last-millions-of-years/) - Prior to reading this article, it is recommended that you read our basic definitions for discussing nuclear science. In this article we refer to 'used nuclear fuel' and to 'nuclear waste'. For our current discussion these are both the same thing. To get a deeper understanding of nuclear power in general, see our general nuclear
- [Would nuclear be too expensive for Saskatchewan?](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/would-nuclear-be-too-expensive-for-saskatchewan/) - This piece refers to kilowatt-hours (kWh) and costs-per-kWh as well as cost per installed watt ($/kW). If you are new to these units, please consult our introduction to energy system terms. In this area of knowledge, we defer to our publicly-owned utility for the best possible answer. Sask Power's analysis in 2009, submitted to the
- [Reservoir hydro resources on the Canadian prairies](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/reservoir-hydro-resources-on-the-canadian-prairies/) - Vision of Earth has been working on the topic of Saskatchewan's energy future for quite some time. We presented some ideas at the Saskatchewan Legislature earlier this year, and have been following the course of our province's development closely. We have also completed some other works relating to Saskatchewan's Energy Future. We have been captivated for a
- [Does nuclear power lead to weapons proliferation?](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/does-nuclear-power-lead-to-weapons-proliferation/) - Prior to reading this article, it is recommended that you read our basic definitions for discussing nuclear science. You can make a bomb out of used fuel, but it is non-trivial Not all used nuclear fuel material is suitable for bombs, particularly the materials found in spent reactor fuel that has undergone a full cycle of
- [Incentives to build renewable in Saskatchewan](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/incentives-to-build-renewable-in-saskatchewan/) - We proposed a feed-in tariff for renewable energy resources such as wind, solar, and hydro power. What this means is basically that people or companies who produced power from these sources would be paid more for their electricity than non-renewable providers. See our proposal for more details about the practicality and effectiveness of a feed-in
- [Electricity Grid: Key Terms and Definitions](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/electricity-grid-key-terms-and-definitions/) - Demand The electricity grid delivers different amounts of power at different times, depending on the demand. Generally daytime has higher demand than nighttime because people are awake and using their electric devices. Generally midsummer is a high demand time in warm, wealthy countries because people will use a lot of electricity on air conditioning units
- [Reliable power rather than baseload](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/reliable-power-rather-than-baseload/) - What is baseload? Baseload power is defined in multiple ways ((Wikipedia: Base load power plant)). In general though it refers to a class of power generating equipment that is used for meeting the general trend in power use by a population. This means that it fulfills a complementary role to that of 'peaking' power supply. Peaking
- [Leverage hydro to use wind](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/leverage-hydro-to-use-wind/) - Wind is an energy resource Wind does not always produce power, but it can be relied upon to be an energy resource of relatively predictable value when looking at long time-frames. For instance, if I know that the Centennial Wind Farm in Saskatchewan has a capacity factor of 42.4%, then I can expect that on
- [Feed-In Tariff: Government Encouraging The Market](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/feed-in-tariff-government-encouraging-the-market/) - One of the eternal debates of public administration has been the tension between the market and the control imposed by the government. The people, represented by the government are often interested in introducing restrictions on the free play of the market to protect their interests. The intervention of the government is usually with the goal
- [Solar Thermal Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/solar-thermal-power/) - The energy potential of the sun's light is obvious to anyone who has ever seen a magnifying glass used in the sun to burn things like ants, paper, or themselves. Direct sunshine delivers a lot of energy to what it strikes. By focusing even a small area of it down to a small point, a
- [Economics: Key Terms and Definitions](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/economics-key-terms-and-definitions/) - Interest Most of us are familiar with the concept of interest in our daily lives. If we invest $100 at 10% interest for a year, at the end of the year we will have $110. If we waited another year we would have $121. If you thought that we should have $120, look again. 10%
- [Is most radiation from nuclear power?](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/is-most-radiation-from-nuclear-power/) - Radiation is a fundamental fact of our natural world. For a definition of what radiation is, see our introduction to nuclear terms. Radiation is generated by a number of sources in our natural environment. Cosmic rays from space strike the upper atmosphere of the earth creating a rain of high energy particles that strike the surface
- [Publicly Owned Renewable Energy](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/publicly-owned-renewable-energy/) - More Green Options for Saskatchewan In our efforts to live green, and encourage our society to do likewise, we realized that there was a crucial opportunity being missed by our local crown corporation. A crown corporation is owned by the people of a country, province, or state, and to some extent controlled politically by the government
- [Software used to create Vision of Earth](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/software-used-to-create-vision-of-earth/) - Vision of Earth is a WordPress blog. We enjoy this piece of software because: It is free. It works rather well with other free software. It is pretty well supported, including a lot of community support. It is very popular, thousands of plugins and themes have been built for it. You can do almost all
- [Renewable Energy Review Blog Carnival](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/renewable-energy-review-blog-carnival/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review Update 2013-05-02: Due to a lack of submissions to the Renewable Energy Review, we decided to simply produce all of the content ourselves. See the bottom of this post for a complete listing of the topics we have covered so far. Vision of Earth is the host of the
- [How do we define poverty?](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/how-do-we-define-poverty/) - Every country has people living in poverty. Here we will distinguish between people living in extreme poverty, moderate poverty, and relative poverty ((Jeffrey Sachs. The End Of Poverty. Excerpt available from Google Books.)). A person in relative poverty has consistent access to the basic necessities of life, while those in extreme or moderate poverty do not. Extreme Poverty People
- [What is the ladder of economic development?](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/what-is-the-ladder-of-economic-development/) - The ladder of development is a useful concept that we first found in Jeffrey Sachs’ excellent book 'The End of Poverty'. This concept provides a useful framework for the discussion of economic development with regards to poverty reduction. This is a conceptual tool, not necessarily a framework for understanding all of economics. This idea is
- [Voluntary and collaborative sustainable development](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/voluntary-and-collaborative-sustainable-development/) - We believe that voluntary collaborative efforts towards sustainable development (SD) are more effective than personal or involuntary efforts towards SD, and this article is intended to describe the major reasons why. Sustainable development vs the status quo The concept of sustainable development brings with it a host of priorities that are at odds with the
- [Solar power from photovoltaic panels](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/solar-power-from-photovoltaic-panels/) - Photovoltaic solar power is the technical term for solar panels that convert sunlight directly into electricity. This is in contrast to techniques that capture solar energy in other ways, or for different uses. Other techniques include hot water heating ((Wikipedia: Solar water heating)), interior temperature control ((Wikipedia: Solar thermal energy: Heating, cooling, and ventilation. Accessed October 10th,
- [Progress and potential of renewable energy](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/progress-and-potential-of-renewable-energy/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review Renewable Energy Review The intent of this publication is an ongoing investigation of the progress and potential of renewable energy in our world. Our goal is to collect the best writing and news on the subject of renewable energy projects and policies. We have observed that humanity is innovating
- [Is nuclear fission power renewable?](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/is-nuclear-fission-power-renewable/) - Before we begin, we have to ask the question of what renewable actually means. Most sources that people regard as 'renewable' are in fact solar sources. They get their energy from the sun. Wind is caused by the heating of the earth's atmosphere by the sun. Fusion power, one of the forms of nuclear power, is
- [Media we find worthwhile](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/media-we-find-worthwhile/) - The Vision of Earth team has decided to begin briefly reviewing media that we find compelling, interesting, or useful. A lot of media exists that has enriched our lives immensely. This project is an effort to share that richness with you the reader. Our reviews will necessarily be relatively short and sparse, since their intent
- [Tony Robbins on inspiration and accomplishment](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/ben-harack/tony-robbins-on-inspiration-and-accomplishment/) - Tony Robbins gave a blockbuster talk at TED on the subject of what motivates people. One of the most interesting occurrences we have ever seen happened in this talk, when Tony ran off the stage to high-five Al Gore. This happened right after Tony asked the audience to list things that were excuses for failing to
- [RSA Animate on what motivates us](https://www.visionofearth.org/productivity-tools/rsa-animate-on-what-motivates-us/) - The first time I saw the RSA Animate video on motivation, I was impressed and fascinated. This was the first video I had ever seen done in this style. I was absolutely transfixed for the whole ten minutes, riveted by the literal 'illustration' of ideas. The combination of a well-delivered speech with excellent contextual visual representation
- [Tim Jackson: Towards a more human economic system](https://www.visionofearth.org/economics/tim-jackson-towards-a-more-human-economic-system/) - In Tim Jackson's TED talk, I was exposed to a new way of looking at ways to innovate our economic system so that is can help us achieve a more sustainable and just world. The first half of the talk lays the foundation for his main ideas. His manner of approaching basic economic ideas is not
- [The dangers of news media speed](https://www.visionofearth.org/media/books/the-dangers-of-news-media-speed/) - News media sources today battle each other to be first to the story and first to publish. With the advent of modern communications technologies and the Internet, this battle has reached a level of dangerous speed. Much of the inspiration for this post comes from the excellent book No Time To Think by Rosenberg and Feldman.
- [Epidemic of ‘news’ that is not actually news](https://www.visionofearth.org/media/books/epidemic-of-news-that-is-not-actually-news/) - Our news media today is full of things that are not actually news. What are they and why is this so? The basis of the ideas for this post come from the excellent book No Time To Think: The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle by Rosenberg and Feldman. Read the book. It
- [Why does 'meaning' mean so much?](https://www.visionofearth.org/media/books/why-does-meaning-mean-so-much/) - Meaning is almost impossible to define rigorously. It is a nebulous term used in many different, though interconnected, contexts. What I am talking about specifically is the idea of meaning as something that exists apart from the physicality of an event or object. Meaning is a perceived property of the universe that makes one bit
- [Media speed's negative effect on politics](https://www.visionofearth.org/media/books/media-speeds-negative-effect-on-politics/) - Horse-race reporting The advent of intense media speed and opinion masquerading as news have had some damaging effects on our political system. This is especially evident in the coverage leading up to and during elections. We now have horse-race reporting on elections, where we spend more time talking about who has the lead and who is catching up.
- [Hans Rosling: Health, wealth, and progress of the world](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/hans-rosling-health-wealth-and-progress-of-the-world/) - Professor of global health Hans Rosling delivered an intense TED talk on the development of the world. He demonstrates what I would call 'theatrical statistics' to great effect. The talk is a gem, and comes highly recommended. People don't know the facts Rosling's research indicates that even among the best educated people in the world, we
- [Why electrical energy storage is useful](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/why-electrical-energy-storage-is-useful/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review Readers who are new to the subject of energy may find it useful to look over our brief documents on important energy terms and electricity grid terms. This week we are taking a look at electric energy storage. There are a number of important reasons why energy storage systems are desirable
- [Laura Pfeifer on urban ecology and community leadership](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/laura-pfeifer-on-urban-ecology-and-community-leadership/) - Laura Pfeifer is the founder and editor of Regina Urban Ecology, and is the Regina organizer of Jane's Walk. The Regina Urban Ecology blog is intended to discuss the broad and nuanced issues of urban development, with a focus on the city of Regina. For those of you who do not know what Jane's Walks are, you
- [Jim Elliott shares his thoughts on sustainability, community, and living green](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/jim-elliott-shares-his-thoughts-on-sustainability-community-and-living-green/) - [no_toc]Jim Elliott is a notable figure in the sustainability movement in Regina and Saskatchewan. He is involved with many environmental action groups, poverty-reduction groups, and the Citizen's Public Transit Coalition for Regina. He has also attended two of the World Urban Forums. We consider Mr. Elliott to be an icon of sustainable living in the Regina
- [Our global human tribe: How we must extend empathy beyond our religion and nation](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/our-global-human-tribe-how-we-must-extend-empathy-beyond-our-religion-and-nation/) - How can our empathy be extended to our entire planet? Can we be expected to identify with people who are seemingly so far removed from us? The answer to these questions is a resounding yes. Additionally, it appears like these tendencies are likely to grow naturally from our rapidly globalizing world. Our circle of empathy
- [What keeps communities locked in the extreme poverty trap?](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/what-keeps-communities-locked-in-the-extreme-poverty-trap/) - To answer the question of what traps people in extreme poverty, we must first discuss what extreme poverty actually is. Extreme poverty is a state of subsistence living in which most, if not all, efforts are directed towards survival. Extreme poverty has many direct consequences. What we are discussing here are the direct feedback effects that
- [National and cultural issues that contribute to poverty and hamper development](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/national-and-cultural-issues-that-contribute-to-poverty-and-hamper-development/) - We discussed in an earlier post the cyclic effects that deepen extreme poverty in communities. Now we are going to build on that knowledge on order to discuss the issues that shape the development of extremely poor nations and cultures. Throughout this article, it is helpful to keep in mind that extreme poverty is a state
- [Types of hydroelectric power: How do the dam things work?](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/types-of-hydroelectric-power-how-do-the-dam-things-work/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review Energy from water cycle Hydroelectricity, or ‘hydro’, is generated from the energy in the water cycle of the earth. The sun evaporates water on the surface of the earth, causing it to rise up to form clouds. Clouds eventually form droplets, which then rain, snow, or hail down to
- [How the common explanations for poverty are incorrect](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/how-the-common-explanations-for-poverty-are-incorrect/) - There are a number of common ideas that purport to explain the vast differences in wealth between the richest and the poorest nations of the world. These ideas have become conventional wisdom, and people tend to accept that they are true statements. Careful analysis however makes it clear that these arguments fail to explain the
- [Misconceptions spreading about the price of solar power](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/misconceptions-spreading-about-the-price-of-solar-power/) - A recent Clean Technica article entitled "What if solar got the same subsidies as coal" recently caught my eye since it was upvoted substantially when it was posted on the environment reddit. The post is a re-post from another site, and it has been re-posted in many other places since. This message goes out to all who
- [Jeffrey Sachs on the high price of ignoring poverty](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/jeffrey-sachs-on-the-high-price-of-ignoring-poverty/) - Euronews recently published an interview that they conducted with economist Jeffrey Sachs. Dr. Sachs is a world-renowned economist, having spent twenty-two years as a Harvard professor. He is also the author of the book The End of Poverty and is one of the chief proponents of greater rich-world involvement in actively ending poverty in our world. The
- [The regulatory battle over coal fly ash heats up](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/the-regulatory-battle-over-coal-fly-ash-heats-up/) - The DeSmogBlog recently published an article detailing how coal industry representatives had dozens of secretive meetings with White House officials before the process was opened for public input. The process in question was regarding Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations regarding fly ash, one of the wastes created by coal-fired power plants. Fly ash is the remains of
- [Land use of coal vs wind: Still room for debate](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/land-use-of-coal-vs-wind-still-room-for-debate/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review For this week's Renewable Energy Review we will be discussing the spatial footprint of wind power as compared to coal power. We will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of looking at these power systems in terms of their land requirements. The idea of comparing power sources on the
- [Science denial: Vaccines, vitamins and GMOs](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/science-denial-vaccines-vitamins-and-gmos/) - The danger of science denial is a TED talk by Michael Specter that touches on a number of issues in society relating to a dissonance between science and the populace. The issues that he identifies are vaccines, vitamins, and genetically modified foods. Along the way he also brings strong messages about ending poverty and environmental
- [Science denial: Vaccines, vitamins and GMOs](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/science-denial-vaccines-vitamins-and-gmos/) - The danger of science denial is a TED talk by Michael Specter that touches on a number of issues in society relating to a dissonance between science and the populace. The issues that he identifies are vaccines, vitamins, and genetically modified foods. Along the way he also brings strong messages about ending poverty and environmental
- [How can we create power from nuclear fusion?](https://www.visionofearth.org/featured-articles/how-can-we-create-power-from-nuclear-fusion/) - In early 2010, I conducted research into fusion power as part of my final year of the physics honours program. I spent several months reviewing literature on the subject. This cumulated in compiling a comprehensive introduction to the topic as well as delivering a one-hour talk on the subject three times. My presentation slides are freely
- [The science behind fusion power](https://www.visionofearth.org/media/books/the-science-behind-fusion-power/) - This is the second post of our series on nuclear fusion power. The science behind fusion is not simple. The treatment I give it during these posts is necessarily brief, and more descriptive than quantitative in nature. It generally takes years of studying to gain a firm grasp of the concepts employed in the study of
- [Helpful tools for understanding nuclear fusion](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/ben-harack/helpful-tools-for-understanding-nuclear-fusion/) - This is the third post in our series on nuclear fusion power. There are many proposed methods for creating fusion power plants. How can we discern which are the most practical? How can we tell which fuels will be the easiest to use? The answers to these questions are rooted deeply in the underlying physics of fusion
- [How can renewables deliver dispatchable power on demand?](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/how-can-renewables-deliver-dispatchable-power-on-demand/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review This is the fifth installment of the renewable energy review. What does dispatchable mean? Dispatchable energy sources are those sources that can be ramped up or shut down in a relatively short amount of time. This could refer to time intervals of a few seconds up to a couple of
- [Fusion fuel cycles: What they are and how they work](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/ben-harack/fusion-fuel-cycles-what-they-are-and-how-they-work/) - As part of our series on nuclear fusion power, this post is going to look at fusion fuel cycles. Fusion fuel cycles are the different ways that fuel nuclei can be combined to make heavier elements. It is convenient to think of them as analogous to chemical reactions, which have reactants, products, and some energy absorbed
- [The basic realities of fusion reactor design](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/ben-harack/the-basic-realities-of-fusion-reactor-design/) - This post is a continuation of our in-depth look at the subject of nuclear fusion power. Here we will look at the issues and difficulties of creating a physical system in which we can create the conditions necessary for nuclear fusion. This post can be regarded as an introduction to the realities of fusion reactor
- [Feed-in tariffs: A fitting policy for renewable energy](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/feed-tariffs-a-fitting-policy-for-renewable-energy/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review The feed-in tariff is a policy mechanism that applies to the electricity generation industry. It has been applied in many countries with the intent of encouraging the development of renewable power generation. Such a policy typically involves guarantees to certain renewable energy industries specific long-term prices for electricity they
- [How do we turn nuclear fusion energy into electricity?](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/ben-harack/how-do-we-turn-nuclear-fusion-energy-into-electricity/) - Nuclear fusion power creates very fast-moving electrically charged particles. This post is about the two major methods for converting the kinetic energy of these particles into useful electrical energy. One of them, heat engines, is a well-proven technology with well-understood operating guidelines and some limitations. The other, direct conversion, is an very new technology that has not
- [Lifestyle brands: Selling people a constructed dream](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/lifestyle-brands-selling-people-a-constructed-dream/) - I was introduced to the work of Naomi Klein when we heard that she would be presenting at the University of Regina regarding her new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. A few of us quickly read the book before the lecture (and a few more afterwards) and were quite impressed with the
- [Interview with wind power guru Paul Gipe](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/interview-with-wind-power-guru-paul-gipe/) - We at Vision of Earth are pleased to present to you an interview conducted with Paul Gipe, a prolific author, renewable energy advocate, and energy industry analyst. He is the creator of Wind-Works, an impressive website full of high-quality renewable energy industry material. Wind-Works has been an excellent resource for us over the years. We know
- [Lindsey Simpson of TEDxMcGill on volunteerism and planning major events](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/lindsey-simpson-of-tedxmcgill-on-volunteerism-and-planning-major-events/) - Today we have the pleasure of presenting an interview with Lindsey Simpson, one of the organizers of the TEDxMcGill event taking place in Montreal on November 20th, 2010. We at Vision of Earth hold TED in the highest regard, and are very excited to say that three of our members will be attending TEDxMcGill! We hope
- [Laser implosion fusion reactors](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/laser-implosion-fusion-reactors/) - New readers may be interested in first reading our introduction to nuclear fusion. Laser implosion fusion, one of several techniques for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) or pellet fusion, is one of the most heavily researched fusion techniques in the world currently. It has had a tumultuous history throughout the last several decades. Despite the difficulties, it
- [Fusion fast ignition systems](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/fusion-fast-ignition-systems/) - Both of the following techniques could dramatically lower the energy needed to achieve fusion conditions. Lower energies are easier to obtain than higher energies, giving these techniques an advantage when compared to other Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) systems. We discussed ICF fusion in a lot of detail in our previous article on laser implosion fusion, the
- [Curtis Dorosh: Green living, building, and volunteering](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/curtis-dorosh-green-living-building-and-volunteering/) - We are happy this week to present our readers with an interview that we conducted with Curtis Dorosh. He is an expert in green building construction and living green. We believe he is also an excellent role model for those who want to help create a better society. We also believe that he demonstrates quality of
- [Time Perspectives, Global Stability, and a Future Worth Living](https://www.visionofearth.org/media/books/time-perspectives-global-stability-and-a-future-worth-living/) - I found the book The Time Paradox to be an incredibly enlightening read. I have spent much of my life paying close attention to how I spend my time, but many of the insights in this book were new to me. The authors, Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd, have done a great job of carefully dealing
- [A renewed look at 2010, a sustainable vision for 2011](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/a-renewed-look-at-2010-a-sustainable-vision-for-2011/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review Contents ToggleA look back at 2010Renewable Energy ReviewProgress and potential of renewable energyWhy electrical energy storage is usefulTypes of hydroelectric power: How do the dam things work?Land use of coal vs wind: Still room for debateHow can renewables deliver dispatchable power on demand?Feed-in tariffs: A fitting policy for renewable
- [John Klein: Social involvement and sustainability in Regina, Saskatchewan, and Canada](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/john-klein-social-involvement-and-sustainability-in-regina-saskatchewan-and-canada/) - We are pleased to present this interview with John Klein, a notable blogger and community activist in Regina, Saskatchewan. He has been nice enough to answer our philosophical and practical questions about the most important issues facing our society today, and what each of us can do about them. You can follow John at his
- [Applying free market ideas to politics: How fares the US?](https://www.visionofearth.org/politics/applying-free-market-ideas-to-politics-how-fares-the-us/) - For optimal function, a free market requires (among other things): Low barriers to entry Large number of both buyers and sellers What if we apply these ideas to politics? What sort of market would our political systems be? Imagine that the sellers are elected officials and parties while the possible buyers are all citizens who
- [Opportunities and perils of natural gas usage on the road to renewables](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/opportunities-and-perils-of-natural-gas-usage-on-the-road-to-renewables/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review While the title of this publication is the Renewable Energy Review, today we are going to talk about natural gas - a distinctly non-renewable energy resource. Why are we doing this? The reason is simple: It has become increasingly clear to us that natural gas is going to play
- [Opportunities and perils of natural gas usage on the road to renewables](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/opportunities-and-perils-of-natural-gas-usage-on-the-road-to-renewables/) - Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Review While the title of this publication is the Renewable Energy Review, today we are going to talk about natural gas - a distinctly non-renewable energy resource. Why are we doing this? The reason is simple: It has become increasingly clear to us that natural gas is going to play
- [How healthy is Canada’s political market?](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/how-healthy-is-canada’s-political-market/) - As of 2011, Canada has five parties represented in the House of Commons. They are the Conservative Party, the New Democratic Party (NDP), the Liberal Party, The Bloc Quebecois, and the Green Party. The last three federal elections in Canada have been quite clearly polarized as the Conservatives vs. everyone else. Progressive voters tend to
- [Wage reduction through inflation](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/wage-reduction-through-inflation/) - This piece is intended to answer some of people’s questions about how inflation affects what they are being paid. First of all, what is inflation? Inflation means that money is worth less and less over time. Example: You live in a country that has inflation (as most countries do, for good reasons which we will
- [Story Of Afghanistan That Everyone Should Know](https://www.visionofearth.org/politics/story-of-afghanistan-that-everyone-should-know/) - Around the year 2000, I was sitting in a high school history / social studies class taught by my father. We were in the middle of a couple-week stint in which he was focusing on the events in Afghanistan during the 1980’s. (Some of you may be wondering what happened in Afghanistan during the 1980's.
- [Moving Planet Montreal](https://www.visionofearth.org/slideshow-articles/moving-planet-montreal/) - Moving Planet was a worldwide event that took place on September 24th, 2011. It was conceived by the folks over at 350.org as an effort to help the world transition away from fossil fuels. The Moving Planet event in Montreal (which took place in Parc Jeanne-Mance) was planned by local volunteers. All we got from 350.org
- [Ethics, Slavery and the Ivory Coast](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/ethics-slavery-ivory-coast/) - Ethics and morality are not permanent fixtures of our society. They are constantly evolving and adapting to new social norms and necessities. Today in Canada, slavery is considered to be absolutely immoral. This is, however, a relatively recent development. Two hundred years ago slavery was legal and widely accepted. At present in the Ivory Coast,
- [Harvest and Hunger: Amy Jo Ehman on local food choices](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/harvest-hunger-amy-jo-ehman-local-food-choices/) - Hello! This is my first post on Vision of Earth. Glad to be here. On November 9th & 10th, SCIC (Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation) hosted an event in Saskatoon called Harvest and Hunger (introduced in our earlier post: Harvest and Hunger: Brainstorming the future of the world food system). SCIC is an umbrella organization that represents
- [Vision of Earth submission chosen as finalist in Morph My City Competition](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/vision-earth-submission-chosen-finalist-morph-city-competition/) - Vision of Earth is proud to announce that we have been selected as finalists for the Regina Morph My City competition. The competition, which closed on July 4th, received interest from over 17,000 individuals in 117 countries. Three submissions were selected as finalists for the Morph My City 2040 Prize and three for the Greenfield
- [Regina's wastewater plant - Is a P3 the right answer?](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/regina-wastewater-plant/) - So, the big vote is tomorrow. Regina residents have been back and forth with regards to the P3 debate, but there still seems to be a lot of undecided voters and confusion regarding the proposed project. Still haven’t decided? Want the lowdown? I’m going to do my best to explain.The first thing that’s required when
- [Envisioning a Green Life: 10 ways you can make a difference](https://www.visionofearth.org/politics/envisioning-a-green-life-10-ways-you-can-make-a-difference/) - I brainstormed this list for the Moving Planet Montreal event on Sept 24th, 2011. I think that if a person can do all of these things, they are well on their way to living a very 'green' life! Envisioning a Green Life Walk, jog, bike, skateboard, or rollerblade to commute or for fun. Be healthier and
- [Regina's Rooming Houses debate](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/reginas-rooming-houses-debate/) - The City of Regina has recently begun consulting residents about the subject of "Rooming Houses," which are homes in residential areas in which both the owner and renters are residing. If all renters in a home are relatives, then it is not a Rooming House. ((Regina to review rooming house bylaw. May 10th, 2013. CBC)) The
- [Fair Vote Canada Video Contest](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/fair-vote-canada-video-contest/) - Fair Vote Canada, an organization dedicated to voting system reform, has launched a video contest. The intent of the contest is to find new and better ways to communicate both the drawbacks of Canada’s current winner-takes-all voting system and the benefits of proportional representation (PR) voting systems. We fully support Fair Vote Canada in their
- [Response to Design Regina Draft Documents](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/response-design-regina-draft-documents/) - Preface This document is a response to the draft documents posted as part of the Design Regina process. The authors of this response are also the primary authors of Transforming Regina: Planning for 2040 and beyond, which achieved a place in the finals of the Regina Morph My City competition. Readers interested in a detailed
- [Harvest and Hunger: Brainstorming the future of the world food system](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/harvest-hunger-brainstorming-future-world-food-system/) - Harvest and Hunger The Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation is hosting an event in Saskatoon on November 10th called Harvest and Hunger. The event sets out to answer three questions: Who controls the world's food? Who has power in the global food system? Who doesn't? What are people doing - both in Saskatchewan and around
- [Politics in the 11th hour: The Canadian Cons](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/politics-in-the-11th-hour-the-canadian-cons/) - The Conservative Party of Canada has deliberately lied to the Canadian populace about several of the major issues that they have focused on during this election season. The intent of this piece is to describe why we have very good reason to believe this. Who do Canadians support? Anyone closely following Canadian politics knows that
- [Moving Planet Montreal video by Developing Pictures](https://www.visionofearth.org/live-green/moving-planet-montreal-video-by-developing-pictures/) - My first YouTube appearance! A wonderful video about Moving Planet Montreal was created by Alex Pritz of Developing Pictures. The video features me in my first-ever YouTube appearance! I invite you all to take a look, as it is less than two minutes long. It should be visible just below this paragraph, but if not
- [Ben’s Interview on Radio CKUT 90.3 FM ](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/ben’s-interview-on-radio-ckut-90-3-fm/) - The high point of my week was being invited by Ryan Young for an interview on Ecolibrium on CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal on Tuesday, Sept 6th. The 25-minute interview was slated to cover both Vision of Earth and an upcoming event that I am helping to plan in Montreal: The Moving Planet Picnic and
- [How much would it cost to end extreme poverty in the world?](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/how-much-would-it-cost-to-end-extreme-poverty-in-the-world/) - Answer: Not that much actually. In his book, The End of Poverty, Jeffrey Sachs made some careful estimates as to what it would cost to end extreme poverty in the world in about twenty years. If you are unfamiliar with what the term ‘extreme poverty’ means, check out our piece on defining poverty. Ending world
- [Releasing some posts in mp3 format](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/releasing-some-posts-in-mp3-format/) - I am pleased to announce that Vision of Earth is beginning to offer some of our content in audio format. Whenever you see the following icon, it means that the entire post is available in mp3 format. The audio versions are read by the authors of the post. Our first post offered in this format
- [Voted for Koch on the Corporate Hall of Shame](https://www.visionofearth.org/politics/voted-for-koch-on-the-corporate-hall-of-shame/) - Corporate Accountability International has launched their 2011 Corporate Hall of Shame. On their site, you can vote for the company that you believe has been the most abusive.People interested in the subject of corporate accountability may be interested in checking out the previous ‘winners’ of the hall of shame. Upon hearing of this poll, I
- [CRTC proposes changes to Canada's regulations for false or misleading news](https://www.visionofearth.org/media/crtc-proposes-changes-to-canadas-regulations-for-false-or-misleading-news/) - A proposed regulation change by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has attracted some interest recently from prominent academics and bloggers. The proposed changes will reduce the scope of what the regulations will consider to be false or misleading news. The public consultation on these amendments ends February 9th, 2011. Noticing this deadline today,
- [Canada's Bill C-32: Copyright that can stifle creativity](https://www.visionofearth.org/media/canadas-bill-c-32-copyright-that-can-stifle-creativity/) - Until the end of January 2011, the Bill C-32 Legislative Committee is accepting public comments on the proposed bill. Their guidelines are: In order for briefs on Bill C-32 to be considered by the Committee in a timely fashion, the document should be submitted to the Committee’s mailbox at CC32@parl.gc.ca by the end of January, 2011.
- [Vision of Earth in social media](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/vision-of-earth-in-social-media/) - We have been innovating the way we integrate Vision of Earth with social media lately. This post is intended to bring people up to date on what we have been up to. For a long time we have had social media links on our posts as well as in the top-right corner of the page.
- [Vision of Earth has a newsletter!](https://www.visionofearth.org/news/vision-of-earth-has-a-newsletter/) - We have created a newsletter for Vision of Earth! The intent of this effort is to stimulate continued two-way communication with our readers and to provide concise summaries of important content we have created and experienced. Quality content delivered to you This free newsletter will contain exclusive content that is not available on the website.
- [Regina Farmer’s Market](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/regina-farmers-market/) - Since the beginning of May, the Regina Farmer's Market has been meeting on Wednesdays and Saturdays on the streets surrounding Regina City Hall. Their hours are 9:30am to 1:30pm on these days. They will be running until October 9th. You can find their website here.
- [Morph My City Report - Transforming Regina: Planning for 2040 and beyond](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/morph-city-report/) - The Vision of Earth team is proud to have been selected as finalists for the Morph My City 2040 Competition. Today we present our findings at the National Infrastructure Summit in Regina. This morning we are pleased to publish our report detailing the full results of our analysis (PDF, 114 pages). We believe these ideas
- [Peace, governance, and civilization: Reflections on the Paris Peace Forum](https://www.visionofearth.org/future-of-humanity/peace-governance-and-civilization/) - During the course of my life, I’ve become increasingly interested in peace. How is it made? How is it maintained? How is it destroyed? From a young age, I was deeply influenced by my father’s interest in history and the Remembrance Day (November 11th) events by the Canadian Legion. However, despite many earnest attempts to
- [Ruling ourselves: The deliberate evolution of global cooperation and governance](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/ruling-ourselves/) - Some of our readers may have been wondering what we’ve been up to over the past year. Certainly, there haven’t been many posts to this website for quite some time. Putting aside the lack of posts for now (suffice to say we’ll be making a return soon) we’d like to share with our readers the
- [Ruling ourselves: The deliberate evolution of global cooperation and governance](https://www.visionofearth.org/industry/ruling-ourselves/) - Some of our readers may have been wondering what we’ve been up to over the past year. Certainly, there haven’t been many posts to this website for quite some time. Putting aside the lack of posts for now (suffice to say we’ll be making a return soon) we’d like to share with our readers the
- [Vision of Earth submission chosen as finalist in Morph My City Competition](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/vision-earth-submission-chosen-finalist-morph-city-competition/) - Vision of Earth is proud to announce that we have been selected as finalists for the Regina Morph My City competition. The competition, which closed on July 4th, received interest from over 17,000 individuals in 117 countries. Three submissions were selected as finalists for the Morph My City 2040 Prize and three for the Greenfield
- [Regina Farmer’s Market](https://www.visionofearth.org/case-studies/saskatchewan/regina-farmers-market/) - Since the beginning of May, the Regina Farmer's Market has been meeting on Wednesdays and Saturdays on the streets surrounding Regina City Hall. Their hours are 9:30am to 1:30pm on these days. They will be running until October 9th. You can find their website here.

## Pages

- [Who are we?](https://www.visionofearth.org/mandate/who-are-we/) - Ben Harack Ben Harack studies the potential for artificial intelligence to trigger a world war and how to prevent that from happening. In particular, he studies AI-triggered military power shifts, the causes of war, and the international governance of AI—with a particular focus on verification. He works with the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative and
- [Contact Us](https://www.visionofearth.org/mandate/contact-us/) - Co-founder, webmaster Ben Harack - ben.harack@gmail.com Co-Founder Kyle Laskowski - kyle.laskowski@visionofearth.org Operations Alana Watson - alana.watson@visionofearth.org
- [The Project](https://www.visionofearth.org/mandate/) - Vision of Earth is a group of deeply engaged volunteers scattered across North America. We aim to maximize the chance that humanity survives and thrives. Our tools are primarily the creation and communication of knowledge and perspectives - particularly those that illuminate a workable path toward solving humanity’s most pressing problems. We’re keenly aware that
- [Get Involved](https://www.visionofearth.org/get-involved/) - We are always looking for interested people who want to contribute. If you are interested in anything we do, fire us an email or simply comment on any post we have. Don't be shy, we enjoy hearing new perspectives and are always interested in volunteers for the project. We welcome constructive criticism as a genuine form
- [Get Involved](https://www.visionofearth.org/get-involved/) - We are always looking for interested people who want to contribute. If you are interested in anything we do, fire us an email or simply comment on any post we have. Don't be shy, we enjoy hearing new perspectives and are always interested in volunteers for the project. We welcome constructive criticism as a genuine form
- [Hire Us](https://www.visionofearth.org/hire/) - The Vision of Earth team has a broad variety of skills and areas of expertise, which we have listed below. Energy Usage Consulting We have researched extensively on the subject of energy usage. If you are a do-it-yourself person, you can check out our comprehensive look at green energy usage. We can offer personalized consulting
- [Donate](https://www.visionofearth.org/donate/) - Vision of Earth Project Donations Please donate if you enjoy our work. All donations will directly support our continued ability to contribute to society through our work. Paypal is a recognized standard for secure online transactions. Ripplepay is a system of socially-derived credit. If you find this interesting check out the Ripplepay site.
- [Donate](https://www.visionofearth.org/donate/) - Vision of Earth Project Donations Please donate if you enjoy our work. All donations will directly support our continued ability to contribute to society through our work. Paypal is a recognized standard for secure online transactions. Ripplepay is a system of socially-derived credit. If you find this interesting check out the Ripplepay site.
- [Conscientious Future](https://www.visionofearth.org/mandate/conscientious-future/) - What future do we want to build? Thoughts on the evolution of a conscientious world. Written by Ben Harack Edited by: Steven Kuski, Robert Bailey, James Mills, Jacenta Murch and Kyle Laskowski Our society, as it exists today, is a product of our collective intent. Our governments have been shaped by cumulative centuries of efforts
- [Blog](https://www.visionofearth.org/blog/)

## Categories

- [Industry](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/industry/) - Parent for wind, solar…etc.
- [Saskatchewan](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/case-studies/saskatchewan/) - The home province of Vision of Earth. More than a case study for us.
- [Featured Articles](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/featured-articles/) - Our most major works.
- [News](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/news/) - The latest, the greatest, and whatever else.
- [Coal Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/industry/coal-power/) - Coal is dug out of the ground and burned to produce heat which is in turn converted to electricity through a heat engine.
- [Renewable Energy](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/industry/renewable-energy/) - Power from Solar, Wind, Hydro, Biomass, Biogas, Wave, etc
- [Nuclear Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/industry/nuclear/)
- [Slideshow Articles](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/slideshow-articles/) - Pictures in this category will show up in the slideshow on the home page.
- [Oil](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/industry/oil-industry/)
- [Nuclear Myth And Fact](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/industry/nuclear/nuclear-myth-and-fact/) - The debate rages on about Nuclear Power. Many of the arguments on both sides are presented poorly in light of the actual facts. We are attempting to gather together many of the misconceptions and show them for what they are.
- [Politics](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/politics/)
- [Books](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/media/books/)
- [Saskatchewan's Energy Future](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/case-studies/saskatchewan/saskatchewans-energy-future/) - What direction Saskatchewan should take with regards to modernizing its power grid. Suggestions include policy changes, public spending, and personal involvement and innovation.
- [Economics](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/economics/)
- [Live Green](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/live-green/)
- [Software](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/productivity-tools/software/) - What software exists? How is it useful?
- [Productivity Tools](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/productivity-tools/) - How can we accomplish more with less time/effort/money?
- [Renewable Energy Review](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/industry/renewable-energy/renewable-energy-review/)
- [Ending Poverty](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/economics/ending-poverty/)
- [Case Studies](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/case-studies/) - Places that we have looked at in more detail.
- [Manitoba](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/case-studies/manitoba/) - A province with a lot of hydroelectric power, and a lot of potential to develop.
- [Media](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/media/) - Media that we find compelling, interesting, or useful
- [Ben Harack's Blog](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/news/ben-harack/)
- [Talks](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/media/talks/)
- [Interviews](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/media/interviews/) - Interviews that we have conducted with people that we like.
- [Social Change](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/social-change/)
- [Fusion Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/industry/fusion/)
- [Quebec](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/case-studies/quebec/)
- [Podcasts](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/media/podcasts/)
- [Urban Planning](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/urban-planning/)
- [Future of Humanity](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/future-of-humanity/)
- [Existential Risks](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/future-of-humanity/existential-risks/)
- [Humanity's Future In Space](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/future-of-humanity/humanitys-future-in-space/)
- [Press Releases](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/news/press-releases/)
- [Governance](https://www.visionofearth.org/category/social-change/governance/)

## Tags

- [Wind Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/wind-power/)
- [Nuclear Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/nuclear-power/)
- [Nuclear Waste](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/nuclear-waste/)
- [Large-Scale Energy Systems](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/large-scale-energy-systems/)
- [Energy](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/energy/)
- [Students](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/students/)
- [Uranium Development Partnership](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/uranium-development-partnership/)
- [Health](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/health/)
- [Radiation](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/radiation/)
- [Energy Storage](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/energy-storage/)
- [Oil](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/oil/)
- [Hydro Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/hydro-power/)
- [Hydrogen](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/hydrogen/)
- [Batteries](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/batteries/)
- [Capacitors](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/capacitors/)
- [Compressed Air](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/compressed-air/)
- [Small Hydro](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/small-hydro/)
- [Coal](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/coal/)
- [Fossil Fuels](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/fossil-fuels/)
- [Feed-In Tariffs](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/feed-in-tariffs/)
- [Solar Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/solar-power/)
- [Society](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/society/)
- [Geothermal Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/geothermal-power/)
- [Clean Coal](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/clean-coal/)
- [Eating Locally](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/eating-locally/)
- [Regina](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/regina/)
- [Crony Capitalism](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/crony-capitalism/)
- [Environmental Assesment](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/environmental-assesment/)
- [Consciousness](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/consciousness/)
- [Social Sciences](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/social-sciences/)
- [SaskPower](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/saskpower/)
- [Baseload](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/baseload/)
- [Solar Thermal](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/solar-thermal/)
- [Poverty](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/poverty/)
- [Capital](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/capital/)
- [Green Innovation](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/green-innovation/)
- [Conservation](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/conservation/)
- [Activism](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/activism/)
- [Policy](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/policy/)
- [Public Ownership](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/public-ownership/)
- [Mixed Economy](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/mixed-economy/)
- [Run-of-river Hydro](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/run-of-river-hydro/)
- [Web Publishing](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/web-publishing/)
- [Website Design](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/website-design/)
- [Sustainable Development](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/sustainable-development/)
- [Cooperatives](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/cooperatives/)
- [Wealth](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/wealth/)
- [Volunteerism](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/volunteerism/)
- [Green](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/green/)
- [Online Media](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/online-media/)
- [Motivation](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/motivation/)
- [Humanism](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/humanism/)
- [Journalism](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/journalism/)
- [Inspiration](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/inspiration/)
- [Ecosystem Services](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/ecosystem-services/)
- [Urban Ecology](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/urban-ecology/)
- [Collaborative Work](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/collaborative-work/)
- [Belief Systems](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/belief-systems/)
- [Personal Change](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/personal-change/)
- [Congruence](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/congruence/)
- [Agriculture](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/agriculture/)
- [Extreme Poverty](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/extreme-poverty/)
- [HIV/AIDS](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/hivaids/)
- [Peace](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/peace/)
- [Psychology](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/psychology/)
- [Memes](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/memes/)
- [Science](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/science/)
- [Vaccines](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/vaccines/)
- [Heat Engines](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/heat-engines/)
- [Physics](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/physics/)
- [Dispatchable Power](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/dispatchable-power/)
- [Grid Management](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/grid-management/)
- [Nuclear Physics](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/nuclear-physics/)
- [Direct Conversion](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/direct-conversion/)
- [Steam Engines](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/steam-engines/)
- [Lifestyle Brands](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/lifestyle-brands/)
- [Naomi Klein](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/naomi-klein/)
- [Advertising](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/advertising/)
- [Wind Energy](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/wind-energy/)
- [Markets](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/markets/)
- [McGill University](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/mcgill-university/)
- [Organic](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/organic/)
- [Fusion Ignition](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/fusion-ignition/)
- [Inertial Confinement Fusion](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/inertial-confinement-fusion/)
- [Trolls](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/trolls/)
- [Extremists](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/extremists/)
- [Argument](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/argument/)
- [Smart Grid](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/smart-grid/)
- [Demand Side Management](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/demand-side-management/)
- [Dispatchable Loads](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/dispatchable-loads/)
- [Newsletter](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/newsletter/)
- [Social Media](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/social-media/)
- [Collective Rationality](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/collective-rationality/)
- [Green Building](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/green-building/)
- [Copyright Law](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/copyright-law/)
- [Public Discourse](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/public-discourse/)
- [Social Welfare](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/social-welfare/)
- [Ethics](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/ethics/)
- [Stress](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/stress/)
- [Capitalism](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/capitalism/)
- [Conservatives](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/conservatives/)
- [Canada](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/canada/)
- [Election](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/election/)
- [Social Mobility](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/social-mobility/)
- [Meritocracy](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/meritocracy/)
- [Class Warfare](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/class-warfare/)
- [Taxes](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/taxes/)
- [United States](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/united-states/)
- [Ralph Nader](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/ralph-nader/)
- [Barriers to Entry](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/barriers-to-entry/)
- [Political Monopoly](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/political-monopoly/)
- [US Politics](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/us-politics/)
- [Global Energy Systems](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/global-energy-systems/)
- [Natural Gas](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/natural-gas/)
- [Shale Gas](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/shale-gas/)
- [Fiscal Conservatism](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/fiscal-conservatism/)
- [Social Conservatism](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/social-conservatism/)
- [Elections](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/elections/)
- [Debt Crisis](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/debt-crisis/)
- [Proportional Representation](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/proportional-representation/)
- [Warren Buffett](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/warren-buffett/)
- [Monterrey Consensus](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/monterrey-consensus/)
- [Jeffrey Sachs](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/jeffrey-sachs/)
- [Cradle to Cradle](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/cradle-to-cradle/)
- [David Suzuki Foundation](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/david-suzuki-foundation/)
- [Green Transportation](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/green-transportation/)
- [Active Transportation](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/active-transportation/)
- [Community Engagement](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/community-engagement/)
- [Saskatchewan](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/saskatchewan/)
- [News](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/news/)
- [Renewable Energy](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/renewable-energy/)
- [Politics](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/politics/)
- [Books](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/books/)
- [Economics](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/economics/)
- [Software](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/software/)
- [Quebec](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/quebec/)
- [Podcasts](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/podcasts/)
- [existential risk](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/existential-risk/)
- [existential threat](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/existential-threat/)
- [nuclear war](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/nuclear-war/)
- [nuclear holocaust](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/nuclear-holocaust/)
- [nuclear winter](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/nuclear-winter/)
- [end of humanity](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/end-of-humanity/)
- [dangers of technology](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/dangers-of-technology/)
- [human extinction](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/human-extinction/)
- [global catastrophic risk](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/global-catastrophic-risk/)
- [supervolcanoes](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/supervolcanoes/)
- [asteroid impacts](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/asteroid-impacts/)
- [gamma-ray bursts](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/gamma-ray-bursts/)
- [biotechnology](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/biotechnology/)
- [nanotechnology](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/nanotechnology/)
- [artificial intelligence](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/artificial-intelligence/)
- [machine intelligence](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/machine-intelligence/)
- [friendly AI](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/friendly-ai/)
- [unfriendly AI](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/unfriendly-ai/)
- [future of humanity](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/future-of-humanity/)
- [genetic engineering](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/genetic-engineering/)
- [anthropogenic existential risk](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/anthropogenic-existential-risk/)
- [selection bias](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/selection-bias/)
- [survivorship bias](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/survivorship-bias/)
- [global coordination](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/global-coordination/)
- [human potential](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/human-potential/)
- [threats from nature](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/threats-from-nature/)
- [pandemics](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/pandemics/)
- [trade-off hypothesis](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/trade-off-hypothesis/)
- [natural existential risk](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/natural-existential-risk/)
- [climate change](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/climate-change/)
- [natural pandemics](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/natural-pandemics/)
- [cosmic threats](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/cosmic-threats/)
- [unknown threats](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/unknown-threats/)
- [global peace](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/global-peace/)
- [global government](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/global-government/)
- [global priorities](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/global-priorities/)
- [cosmic endowment](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/cosmic-endowment/)
- [international diplomacy](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/international-diplomacy/)
- [weakest-link risks](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/weakest-link-risks/)
- [best-shot risks](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/best-shot-risks/)
- [summation risks](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/summation-risks/)
- [global cooperation](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/global-cooperation/)
- [existential risk human extinction](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/existential-risk-human-extinction/)
- [cognitive bias](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/cognitive-bias/)
- [availability heuristic](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/availability-heuristic/)
- [confirmation bias](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/confirmation-bias/)
- [scope neglect](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/scope-neglect/)
- [offworld refuges](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/offworld-refuges/)
- [space colonies](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/space-colonies/)
- [existential independence](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/existential-independence/)
- [occupy heaven](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/occupy-heaven/)
- [thriving human civilization](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/thriving-human-civilization/)
- [human Martians](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/human-martians/)
- [Global Challenges Foundation](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/global-challenges-foundation/)
- [University of Regina](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/university-of-regina/)
- [Governance](https://www.visionofearth.org/tag/governance/)