5. Known Knowns and the Unknown

There is plenty of evidence, as previous chapters have shown, to suggest that scientific know how, engineering expertise, and technical capability all exist in sufficient abundance around the globe, to enable the ‘building of a bridge’ to a fossil fuel free future. Should the global warming threat become serious enough to impinge on the consciousness of mankind before it is too late to prevent the widely predicted run-away climatic processes, a desperate drive to mobilise and assemble those with the requisite skills to design, develop and construct thousands of renewable power stations could materialise. From a purely engineering perspective this can be done, and how the policy makers could make it happen is discussed in this chapter. The political implications of such a policy of transition would be immense, however, and it seems likely that a lack of political will, and an absence of effective leadership, could easily result in drift towards a global climate that is inimical to the human race and many other species.