Hi, my name is Katherine Herleman. I am an environmental geologist who is passionate about researching and informing the public about the science, policy, and ethics of the rapidly-changing world of sustainable energy technology.

My academic research has led me to consider the far-reaching, sometimes inadvertent, consequences of phasing out fossil fuels as energy resources and phasing in sustainable energy technology. In particular, I am interested in examining and discussing how environmental and occupational health risks associated with industrial processes like REE mining, smelting, and battery recycling may intensify in developing countries.

As many wealthier countries deploy sustainable energy technology, we should celebrate that regional risks associated with domestic coal mining or oil and gas production and global risks associated with climate change are being reduced or altogether eliminated. However,  we must also recognize that regional and local risks associated with sustainable energy technology, many of which result from new or intensifying industrial processes, are emerging in developing countries where environmental regulatory framework is currently either inadequate or unenforceable.

 As we deal with climate change, I believe that engineering technical solutions which merely displace risks to developing countries, rather than mobilizing vast knowledge and resources to engineer technical solutions which reduce, mitigate for, or altogether eliminate risks across the product or infrastructure life cycle, is fundamentally unethical. I know we can do better, and I’m reaching out to you here to figure out how we use the momentum of this unprecedented period of energy technology transformation to engineer better solutions for the Earth and all of its inhabitants.

I see the enormous scale, scope, and severity of the risks posed by climate change as evidence that engineers and scientists not only have an obligation to innovate our energy technology but also to innovate how we design energy technology. Dealing with climate change isn’t just about changing technology. It’s also about critically examining the fundamental assumptions, value judgments, and the culture of engineering and scientific institutions across the entire research, development, and deployment cycle which led to this global crisis in the first place.

If engineers and scientists continue to use the same decision-making processes which got us into this mess, it seems unlikely that we can design successful solutions which will get us out of this mess. We may result in achieving the intended goal of dealing with climate change  — obviously, this of paramount importance because of the existential risks presented  — but may fail consider preventable environmental, social, or economic impacts of emerging energy technologies.

Now is the time to examine and apply our many hard-learned lessons from industrialization in the previous era, and save our global family the enormous grief and resources of dealing with these impacts after the damage has been done. With the knowledge and technology currently available, nothing can hold us back now except the limits of our compassion and imagination.