Life in the balance

We have had our lives turned upside down by this pandemic, and for some it has been a challenge to maintain a quality of life, keep mind and body together and to put food on the table. At the same time acts of fellowship and kindness are being delivered on a daily basis and there could be a glimmer of hope for the future.

In my village in Oxfordshire we have a small sustainable group that seeks to promote local actions in terms of energy production and sharing of local produce and expertise. We recently had a visit from a colleague from the Oxford library of things. This is a concept that discourages wasteful purchases of seldom-used items and offers the ability to borrow things for a small membership fee. In addition, regular sessions are held where volunteers repair things from bikes to toasters and people share in the positive experience.

Through our sustainable group I was introduced to a book by Rob Hopkins called “From what is - to what if”. We have already discussed the effect of the lockdown on the community and have produced some postcards using this catch phrase to consult the villagers on what they would like to see, as we recover from the constraints of the virus: do we want to return to the lives of before, or create a new vision ?

In the book, Rob Hopkins explores the conditions that have robbed us of the childhood imagination we are all born with.

Our education system has become a process that discourages free thought, imagination and exploration, and focuses on the limited task of passing exams. Subjects are widely taught in silos and children move from room to room learning different subjects devoid of any project context. Education Minister Michael Gove subjected the national curriculum to a reduction in the arts subjects by 21% during his last reign. We need all subjects to foster our creativity and prepare us for life, and not have a narrow focus on in-vogue disciplines. This disjointed model then extends into the workplace where we are crying out for creativity to solve the world’s problems.

What if things could be different? In the book and at facilitated sessions, Rob dares us to dream; what if you could walk your children to school along traffic-free streets where you could smell the blossom, hear the birds and breath clean air?

Walk through a door into the future – how would things have changed? When I read these ideas, it reminded me how much we don’t do dreaming; we don’t have time, nothing will change, what’s the point, we’re all doomed.

It can seem hopeless; yet we need a sense of purpose and of hope that the future can be something better, and we are all able to participate in that positive change.

My fear is that, if we all wait for our governments to make things better, we could be waiting a long time.

On the TV last week I saw a documentary on Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He followed his father Mark into the world of engineering and the change they both created is still around us to be celebrated.

When the SS Great Eastern was launched in 1858 it was the largest ship in the world and would remain so for the next 40 years. His vision was not only to build a large ship, but one that could go to Australia and back with room for cargo and for its own supply of coal for the boilers. Not content with designing a great vessel, he changed the way ships were built and pioneered double hulls and building in sections. His attention to detail was legendary and he amalgamated function and beauty to improve all aspects of engineering.

In the modern age we have Elon Musk and the Tesla corporation. This week Elon and the team launched “Battery Day”.

Tesla has the mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. Contrary to popular misinformation, this does not mean a decline in the quality of life.

It is possible to run all 2 billion vehicles on the planet on electric power. To do this, and to power other modes of transport and to support intermittent sustainable energy generation, we need better batteries.

Like Brunel, Tesla is leaving no stone unturned in the quest for greater efficiency and lower cost to achieve the goal of global ubiquity.

Starting with the raw materials and the mining and recovery processes, they have simplified processes and can separate lithium from Nevada clay using salt water and then put the clay back. There is lithium all over the world and enough lithium in Nevada alone to make batteries for the whole of the USA.

Silica is the most abundant mineral on the planet and can be used in batteries in preference to other materials. Tesla have redesigned the extraction process to reduce the number of steps and to recycle, rather than waste, spent water. The knock-on effect is to reduce the size of the factories which in turn reduces footprint and production costs.

Lithium can now by incorporated directly as dry powder into the battery cell film, another radical change that reduces costs and waste material.

The battery cells themselves have been optimised to match the cell length and diameter to greatly increase efficiency. The cell film can now be produced without regular tabs and can be rolled into the cell as a continuous run; this again increases efficiency and reduces production costs as the factory can run faster and more efficiently.

The battery functions by allowing lithium ions to move backwards and forwards between the positive cathode and the negative anode along the structure of the cell (like books on a book shelf); this can be made from a variety of materials and nickel has been found to be cheap, efficient, widely available and suitable for all but the most demanding uses.

In total, all these innovations will result in a 56% improvement on battery performance which improves the range of the vehicles and allows cheaper manufacture, which will shortly give rise to a $25,000 mass market, family car.

Not content with the battery revolution, Tesla has made its own aluminium alloy so that large front and rear sections of cars can be pressed without the need for heat treatment to gain strength. In the next generation of cars the battery pack will be glued and sandwiched together to become a structural element of the car, linking the front and rear chassis sections, reducing the number of parts, weight and improving handling.

This Tesla story shows me, as did Brunel, that we don’t have to focus on small steps or one thing at a time; if we put our imaginative, creative, ambitious minds to something, we can make monumental changes that will improve lives.

As this development increases, those companies producing out-of-date vehicles using old technologies will go out of business. The choice is theirs to be part of this revolution. Tesla share all their patents, so there is really no excuse. Tesla grew by 50% in 2019 despite Covid.

When all vehicles have batteries they will be recycled at the end of their lives and there will be no requirement for more raw materials.

Tesla has already reduced solar photovoltaic panels to $1.49 per watt hour, so the combination of solar, battery and vehicle is now affordable for many.

David Attenborough’s recent documentary was a sobering picture of the state of our planet. I was amazed by the areas of the planet that we have interfered with; the wild, remote areas no longer exist, we are everywhere!

Forests are being burnt down to clear land for livestock, for palm oil production and to use the high-grade timber. Habitats are being destroyed and a million species are in danger of extinction. There are two northern white Rhino left – mother and daughter.

The rivers are polluted with toxic chemicals and the sea is full of plastic, polar bears are running out of ice to live on and we are living so close to wild animals in some places that the danger of viral contagion is increasing.

Of course, we are not all Brunels or Musks, but we can collectively make a difference and must take some responsibility for our actions, our choices and our lifestyles.

Let’s try to be better informed and make the connection between the choices we make and the damage we do.

For my part, I have been driving an electric car for many years and have installed electric air source pumps to heat my home, solar panels and a home battery. My family is vegan and we are starting to grow our own produce in a small way. Some of these changes are eminently do-able, some are more expensive and not available to all, but many are reducing in price, like electric cars which, when you consider all the running costs, are probably actually cheaper. Many people doing typical journeys could easily make the switch.

The government has given out grants for electric cars and solar panels, and is currently about to launch a grant for home insulation up to a value of £5,000. Cosyhomes Oxfordshire is one organisation surveying and managing this type of carbon reducing project.

Whatever you can do, please try to think of the planet and the future for our fellow citizens and our kids.