What Does "Silver Buckshot" Mean?

Before anything else, I suppose I'd better explain the title of this blog. Many people working on the energy quest are probably familiar with the term silver buckshot. It's a catchy way of summing up the need for a portfolio or "wedges" approach to solve energy/climate challenges. As countless energy/climate experts have stated, we can't be on the look out for "silver bullets," but instead should be looking for "silver buckshot" -- dividing the task up among a wide array of existing partial fixes that add up to a whole solution. In fact, the wedges idea was coined by Rob Socolow (and Steve Pacala), one of my undergraduate professors at Princeton. Later on I'll probably discuss why some approaches deserve more merit than others, and perhaps it's not best to spread our efforts too widely, but in general I think it's a good analogy for the fact that this is a problem with a very messy solution. It is not a "Manhattan Project" type of a problem that can be address a small group of scientists. And unlike the ozone hole & CFCs, there is no readily available substitute waiting in the wings. Instead, we're grappling with global infrastructure with huge sunk costs. We're talking about rampant market failures resulting from a very exceptional type of good --a global public good. Perhaps we're even considering tinkering with deeply embedded cultural expectations about the availability/cost of energy around which we've built our cities and industries. It's a wicked problem and requires focused attention, prolonged discussion, and immediate input all across society. It requires a willingness to be humble, set aside egos, and seek common ground wherever we can.

Although my view on the matter is already biased in some sense, I'll do my best to present ideas with a neutral tone. Above all, I want to hear from those who disagree or hold different points of view and really seek to grasp where people are coming from. I'm very curious to understand others' mental models and perspectives on the world. Sometimes being in a university setting can feel like an echo chamber and it's sometimes refreshing to hear thoughts from the real world.