Go Green: Thick as a Brick
By Tom Last
I was driving in my car last week when the song “Thick as a Brick,” by Jethro Tull, started playing on the radio. “Thick as a Brick” is one of my favorite Jethro Tull songs and is considered a classic example of progressive rock music characterized by its complex arrangements and diverse musical themes, along with cryptic and philosophical lyrics. More on the song later in the column.
I wanted to focus on something else I enjoy and that is to inform readers on how climate change affects their lives and what they can do to protect our environment to ensure future generations have a safe and flourishing planet.
An important event took place this past November, as the United Nations held their annual Climate Change Conference (COP29). At COP29, world leaders and policy makers joined together to address the challenges of climate change which disproportionately impacts the world’s most vulnerable—COP29 advocates for children impacted by climate change. Today, one billion children are at extremely high risk of the impacts of the climate crisis.
During COP29, the U.N. General Assembly (193 nations) adopted a global pact that included explicit calls to phase out fossil fuels. The General Assembly calls for all nations to move away from fossil fuels and work together to combat climate change and move toward renewable energy. We understand this transition from fossil fuels to renewal energy will take time, but we must continue to make progress quickly to avoid the most serious effects of climate change.
Another major achievement at this year’s COP29 was the agreement for wealthier nations to pledge $300 billion per year in support to help developing countries adopt cleaner energy and cope with the effects of climate change. Although this may seem a robust amount for investing in cleaner energy (renewable), independent experts estimate that these developing countries will need closer to $1.3 trillion per year to support their needs. This agreement brings to light how climate change disproportionately affects the countries that have produced the least amount of greenhouse gases but suffer the most from it. The events of COP29 give us hope for the future, but I recommend that everyone read for themselves the results of COP29.
If you still don’t understand the difference between renewable energy and fossil fuels, then let me make it simple for everyone. Renewable energy sources are much cleaner than fossil fuels and, in some cases like solar and wind power, they are totally clean with unlimited sources of energy. The costs related to renewable energy products have been plummeting (e.g. the cost of solar panels and batteries has decreased 90% in the last decade), while the burning of fossil fuels has been dangerously warming up our atmosphere since the 19th century, imperiling biodiversity, increasing sea levels and drought and making extreme weather events more common, more destructive, and more expensive to clean up.
Back to the song. Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull’s lead singer, who wrote the song “Thick as a Brick,” said the song was in part a response to critics of his former album “Aqualung.” Anderson felt the critics didn’t fully understand his music and were out of touch with the true meaning of his songs. In an apt analogy those who choose renewable energy are those who seek what’s best for the environment while fossil fuel advocates accept “old world” beliefs that are out of touch with reality and dangerous to our future. That’s why we need to forge ahead with what makes sense and that is renewable energy. Anything less and you may be considered “Thick as a Brick.” Please enjoy a few lines from the song by the very talented Ian Anderson. This may help those who support fossil fuels better understand how those who support renewable energy feel on this matter.
“Really don’t mind if you sit this one out
My word’s but a whisper, your deafness a shout
I may make you feel, but I can’t make you think
And your wise men don’t know how it feels
To be thick as a brick”
Go Green Renewables.
