Going Critical - Back in [electronic] print!

Walt Patterson's Going Critical is the classic text on the history of British nuclear power. Originally published in 1985, it's been long out of print - until now.

The current Labour Government is still trying to decide whether nuclear power has a future in Britain. This book reminds us that its history is
littered with wrong decisions and unmet promises.

Looking back - and forward

Walt Patterson Walt was Friends of the Earth's very first Energy Campaigner (1972-1978). With over thirty years of experience in energy and environmental issues he is now Associate Fellow in the Energy and Environmental Programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Walt agreed to answer a few questions about the past and future of energy. Plus we found out how he heats and lights his own home.

Did you think of yourself as a pioneer in the anti-nuclear campaign?

I always objected to the expression 'anti-nuclear'. It was like a label stuck on your forehead saying 'This person's arguments do not matter, and can be ignored'.

Neither I nor my Friends of the Earth colleagues thought of ourselves as 'pioneers' at the time. Others had launched opposition campaigns in the US, Germany and Sweden, for instance, before we were able to launch a campaign in the UK.

'anti-nuclear'. It was like a label stuck on your forehead saying 'This person's arguments do not matter, and can be ignored'.

As my book Going Critical makes clear, nuclear power controversies had been raging behind the scenes in Britain for at least ten years; but we in Friends of the Earth were certainly instrumental in bringing British nuclear power issues into the open, making them public and keeping them public from 1973 onwards.

How long will it take for families all over Britain to have an option to use renewable energy?

Families and other electricity users in Britain already have the option to use at least some renewable electricity, and anyone with a fireplace can use renewable firewood.

But the so-called electricity 'market' in Britain is designed to support and favour traditional large-scale remote generation using coal and nuclear power. It discriminates severely against all small-scale innovative generation, both renewables and cogeneration. Until we sort out the mess of British electricity policy, renewables are going to
have a difficult time.

How do you heat your home?

Last year for the first time we moved into a home with gas-fired central heating, heavy insulation in roof and walls, and modern insulated windows and doors, the most comfortable home we've ever had.

..firewood warms you twice, when you cut it and when you burn it...

But we also have a bit of woodland, and use our own ash logs in our fireplace. As they say, firewood warms you twice, when you cut it and when you burn it...

What's the best invention you've seen in the renewable energy field?

The best invention I have personally experienced is the simple photovoltaic system on our little house on an island in northern Greece.

Every time we arrive we just turn on the lights and the computer and everything works - no meter, no bills to pay. The house itself provides the electricity services.

As this idea catches on around the world, we are going to see dramatic and sweeping changes in the way we think about electricity. It will no longer be a quasi-commodity we buy and pay for by the unit; instead a substantial proportion of it will gradually fade out of sight, and become just part of the way our buildings work for us.

..simple photovoltaic system... - no meter, no bills to pay. The house itself provides the electricity services.

Our house on the Greek island is outside the village, and is completely free-standing and independent. Our Greek friends in the village suffer frequent power cuts from the Greek Public Power Corporation. We tell our friends that the PPC can't cut us off; and now our friends too are beginning to install their own PV systems.

How do you get around?

I walk; I use trains and buses in London, and Eurostar to Paris and Brussels; and I use the inevitable aircraft for longer hauls.

I cycled in London for thirty years, to the Friends of the Earth office in Soho for example; but I don't think I'd do it now - too congested and polluted.

In the country where we live we drive a 16-year-old Land-Rover, our second; our first Land-Rover served us for 28 years. We've used them to carry everything from a concrete mixer to a yard of horse manure.

What's your vision for the world?

I keep thinking about this.

In 1999 the Royal Institute of International Affairs published my 'millennium essay' Running The Planet.

In 2000, when the Institute of Energy awarded me their annual Melchett Medal, I gave a lecture that I called 'Energy 21: Making The World Work'. The essay and the lecture are both available.

But I'm still trying to answer the question. If I can get it right, at least right enough to convince myself, at any rate, the latest version will appear in my next book, which will be called Keeping The Lights On.

For a preview you could check the closing chapter of my most recent book, Transforming Electricity.

What's the one thing everyone who backs renewable energy should do to their home to cut their use of fossil fuels?

If you have the chance, get an energy audit, to find out what you can do and what the priorities are.

But in any case make sure your home is heavily insulated - roof, walls, floors too if feasible.

..make sure your home is heavily insulated - roof, walls, floors..

That's the single most important measure you can take. It will pay for itself rapidly, as well as making your home more comfortable and congenial, summer and winter and all year round.

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