Recently I was
asked to serve as a judge for the Shell Student Energy Challenge, an
infographic competition that was part of the student fuel-efficiency contest, Shell
Eco-marathon. Shell sponsors National Geographic’s Great Energy Challenge
initiative.
This provided
a fascinating opportunity to evaluate what many of us feel: that we must begin
by not only communicating better the risks of neglecting the planet, but also
by highlighting the antidotes to our current miserable record of planetary
care.
If we are not
doing this, who will? Well, the segment of the population we all point to as
the one most likely both to care and to take action is well on its way, the
competition amply proved. That group is secondary school and college-age kids
and young adults. (As I often sadly say, this group is also most likely to
bring a class-action lawsuit against those of us older than 50. We really have
no defense to the contention that we had and have sufficient data on how
damaging our life-style has become, and we also have ample data on the
many opportunities to change things for the better, but to date, have not done
so. That, however, is the subject for another note.)
Shell
Eco-marathon is a global mileage challenge and forum for current and future
leaders who are working to find smarter solutions to the world’s energy
challenge. Student teams compete to design, build, and drive the most
energy-efficient vehicle possible.
I have had the
opportunity to read a great many entries from high schools and colleges in the
United States and Canada, who competed in the Americas division of the
competition, and from students in the separate Europe Shell Student Energy
Challenge In a single poster, students were asked to describe visually and in
text and words our current situation and how we can address this crisis. More
specifically, the question posed to these students was:
By the year
2050, the earth’s population is expected to exceed nine billion people and the
demand for energy is expected to triple. What does the global energy mix look
like in the year 2050?
The best
entries are truly inspiring, and short of critiquing each (a very “over 50″
thing to do), I’ll start by just sharing a few. I don’t agree with all of their
assessments (more on that later), but want to highlight those that really
caught my eye:
University of Toronto
The University
of Toronto team did a great job of making particularly clear the mix of energy
supply-side sources today and in the future, and highlighting just how much is
riding on a set of sectors that occupy an exceedingly small supply tomorrow. My
quibble with this infographic, which took second place in the Americas contest,
is that I think these students are far too conservative on solar, geothermal,
and nuclear. (Remember that this latter category includes everything from the
exceedingly costly (today) nuclear fission plants, to small modular nuclear
reactors, and fusion.) Notice that coal is entirely absent from this team’s
assessment in 2050. Critically absent, however—and for some, hard to
graphically portray—is what many feel will be the largest resource: efficiency.
Norwegian University of Science
and Technology
To be sure
energy efficiency is not neglected here (above). This infographic by the
DNV Fuel Fighter team from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology
is one that takes a narrow view of just this resource, but does a great job
showing just how diverse energy efficiency options truly are.
University of Missouri
The University
of Missouri team captured first place in the Americas contest with this
wonderful version that captures the diversity of energy options—and the ability
for people everywhere to exploit some of their local resources. While quibbles
can abound here (such as the amazing solar, geothermal, and other resources in
Africa and Australia, to name two neglected regions), but I’d really like to
see their “H” hydroelectric light bulbs be used for another energy carrier, H2
(hydrogen). I’d also have a bit more on the benefits and the perils of
large-scale hydropower in the figure.
Delft University of Technology
Students from
Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands delivered this excellent take
on the benefits and the challenges of the place where most experts think we are
headed: toward more and more mega-cities and mega-regions. This visually clean,
but perhaps a bit “lean” infographic focusing on the future of urban areas took
second place in the Europe competition.
Technical University of Crete
Thistruly
beautiful infographic (above) from the Technical University of Crete, Greece,
won first place in the Europe competition. Another infographic to appeal to
geeks like myself (and I think the watchers of shows like “The Big Bang Theory”
is below, by Warsaw University of Technology in Poland.
Warsaw University of Technology
This final
info-graphic—and all of these were winners in my voting—highlights another key
point: there is a great deal to learn that underpins innovative new thinking on
sustainable energy and economic systems.
If there is a
missing theme to note in these great posters, though, it is people, policies,
and behavior. I’ll be suggesting and offering to judge similar competitions
that take equally insightful looks at what does and what can motivate behavior
change— by individuals, by households, communities, countries, and leaders.
I will be
hoping and rooting for that competition to really drive home the importance of
the balance we need between technical and social innovations!
Post by Javed
Source by :
Net Geo Website
