Bill Gates Dismisses Grassroots Conservation?

BusinessGreen.com reported that during Wired’s recent Business Conference in New York City, Bill Gates dismissed in-home conservation technologies as insufficient to solve the world’s energy problems. Which seems odd, given that Microsoft has an in-home sustainable solution business called Hohm. The sensible and measured response related to a macro solution is not any one renewable energy source, but leveraging new forms of energy production with conservation. More importantly, conservation has been democratized – i.e., anyone can participate and immediately implement – whereas energy production requires enormous orchestration with government and private interests. Then there’s the technology development issue. Perhaps the founder of the company that brought us Vista and the Zune should speak more carefully.

“If you’re interested in cuteness, the stuff in the home is the place to go. If you’re interested in solving the world’s energy problems, it’s things like big [solar projects] in the desert,” Gates told the audience. “You have to help the rest of the world get energy at a very reasonable price to get anywhere.”

Now, I appreciate what Gates has done with his foundation, but given that he’s considered a thought leader, I’m hopeful that he’ll be fair and thoughtful with the most immediate and available solutions to our energy needs.

Perhaps this explains the poor performance of Microsoft’s energy products. It seems that they’re weak in most specific verticals, such as energy and health care. Maybe it’s because the overall strategy relies upon a poor understanding of how the world uses energy, not necessarily how it creates it.

More here: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2047375/gates-warns-cute-green-technology-solve-global-energy-crisis

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