FAO: RH Lord David Triesman,
You asked for a clue about my ideas for detailed comprehensive practical strategies to deal with climate change rather than await a government strategy in a decade or so. Here’s the tip of the iceberg.
Michael Bond
24th of May, 2021
For the last few years I’ve attempted to understand the practical science, engineering and economics needed to solve climate change. The focus of my effort has been to accept the limitations in the UK economy (we’re skint and have little formal official interest in science, technology, manufacturing) and devise ways around it.
The heart of my current public strategy is to adopt transitional techniques rather than a leap into the dark or mindless acts of faith. Rather than throw our fates to the winds of history and lunge headlong into an all-electric world I favour making more use of current technology and manufacturing to deliver results more quickly and in a manner that can deliver results we can export and earn our keep in the world.
I have no interest in head-on competition with the likes of China’s massive capacity to mobilise their manufacturing, while we spend a decade debating one little and very out-dated train set, nor in attempting to compete with the deep pockets of venture capital-backed companies like Tesla or the Europeans.
Britain has a tremendous skill in specialist engineering which can become the cornerstone for the of a revitalised manufacturing economy to reduce then resolve carbon emissions and air pollution and produce goods and services we can export to the world.
Compare this with the government’s devotion to the train set and spend over a hundred thousand million on foreign technology we this country, as far back as the 1960s had already developed comparable and far superior technology. We could be developing and exporting that British technology around the world to help solve climate change and increase our economic health.
My solution has evolved over the last decade to focus on these challenges: how to create an independent solution free of government strategy meetings and target policy documents; how to mobilise the current economic resources in the UK economy and manufacturing industries; how to produce something we can export; and how to transform the entire debate on climate change from endless rivers of misery, gloom and doom-the-end-of-the-world-is-nigh.
The answer I have evolved, as the first step in my strategy, is the design and development of a high performance luxury supercar to sell the world on new technology and assemble a group of one thousand wealthy customers as my supporters and social influencers. Through my car, the Rumbler 505 Sport Tank, we will drive new technology to market, raise billions of pounds for long term sustainable investment in the technologies that will work but are politically-incorrect, raise the profile of scientists, designers, innovators and engineers who are actually solving the world’s problems and assemble greater teams for more advanced R&D.
This is not a tiddly little game to toy around with like the train set. There are a series of cycles of investment, growth, feedback and reinvestment to transform the UK and world economy, solve climate change and air pollution, clean the oceans and much much more.
I don’t have the resources of government so cannot establish any larger strategy. I have to work with my limits. Perhaps you can help me open bigger doors to greater prosperity and more rapid deployment of my solutions?
BACKGROUND HISTORY
2003, Iraq: I attempted to interest the UK & US governments in the use of oil securitization as a means of raising a long term humanitarian relief trust fund for the people of Iraq. This would, if managed safely and free of incompetent corruption, have delivered a modest income to provide for relief work, reconstruction and social and public works, small scale, across much of that country. I couldn’t raise the interest or support. The rest is history.
HS2: While the government debated and dithered over HS2 and the costs rose as normal there was an opportunity to invest in revolutionary British technology, maglev trains, to create a totally new kind of “fastline” network and core technology we might export around the world. Maglev was invented here in the UK with the great late Professor Eric Laithwaite’s linear induction motor, so the government commits itself to tried and trusted foreign technology because there is no sustained long term commitment to British investment in British achievements within the political establishment.
Banking: I spent several years on the outskirts of the banking and finance sector. Enough, along with my occasional briefings with the Bank of England, to understand the need to new innovations in investment for sustained recovery and growth. The car pays for it all.
