There’s a Tom Waits line I had thought was from his VH1 Story Tellers album (though I can’t find the exact moment now) where he discusses that a rooster will wait until one is between sung phrases to crow. In my memory, it was about his song “Chocolate Jesus”. The point being—sometimes art coalesces without any intentional will one can detect. Maybe it’s coincidence. Or it’s a vibe people are tuning into. Maybe it’s one of those phone calls in The Sims that would let you know something like, “the owls are not what they seem.” (Super useful, thanks.)
This week’s read submissions are like that. They amplify, reflect, and oppose one another. I enjoy seeing accidental harmonies, though the dissonance and randomness of submissions other weeks is amusing in its own way. The reminder of commonality is linked to a reminder of how unique our own time here.
To that effect, here’s perhaps my favorite lines ever penned on this gap between individual experience, language, and collective understanding:
“Moreover, in this extremity of solitude none could count on any help from his neighbor; each had to bear the brunt of his troubles alone. If, by some chance, one of us tried to unburden himself or to say something about his feelings, the reply he got, whatever it might be, usually wounded him. And then it dawned on him that he and the man with him weren't talking about the same thing. For while he himself spoke from the depths of long days of brooding upon his personal distress, and the image he had tried to impart had been slowly shaped and proved in the fires of passion and regret, this meant nothing to the man to whom he was speaking, and who pictured a conventional emotion, a grief that is traded on the market-place, mass-produced. Whether friendly or hostile, the reply always missed fire, and the attempt to communicate had to be given up. This was true of those at least for whom silence was unbearable, and since the others could not find the truly expressive word, they resigned themselves to using the current coin of language, the commonplaces of plain narrative, of anecdote and of their daily paper. So, in these cases, too, even the sincerest grief had to make do with the set phrases of ordinary conversation. Only on these terms could the prisoners of the plague ensure the sympathy of their door-porter and the interest of their hearers.”
— Albert Camus, The Plague
But you must be the judge for yourself.
Here are the submissions for this week:
The VC model isn’t working. The timelines for a VC fund (10 years to generate returns) don’t align with the longer timelines to invent and commercialize super challenging very hard CDR technology
I am annoyed at increasing suggestions that funding for novel CDR is a diversion from finance that should go to more proven climate technologies. Is this not how capitalism and voluntary markets work? VC is shouldering much of the burden. Until we hit a compliance market, can we lose the snark about where private companies put their investments?
I entered the CDR space with a novel solution in 2021. It was obvious that the world was in climate crisis and my solution would support needed change to bring us back in balance. Back then the message was clear: "If you build it, they will come." I've spent my own money to build out and validate the solution.
Since then I've surmounted all the hurdles: the acronyms "TEA, LCA, PDD, etc"; Undergone audits; Registered credits with credible third registrars; Demonstrated all the normal requirements like additionality, financial additionality, measurability, durability, natural and social co-benefits, bankability, reversal management, etc. Through my registrar I've issued the credits. The credits are available on the spot market.
And yet there is insufficient demand. Turns out I was wrong. I built it and they have not come. Governments, businesses, institutions and individuals have not stepped up to purchase CDR. It was all a lie. I should have used my retirement funds for retirement instead of assuming the future of our planet is of interest to its inhabitants. I could have at least enjoyed 10-20 years of fun before we all burn to a crisp. Too bad for my children though.
Thanks so much for listening and/or reading. I am so glad to have you here.
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your network and help it find more of those who will love it.
Sincerely,
Ross Kenyon
Thank you for listening to and reading Climate Workers Anonymous. Subscribe to Substack below, and be sure to subscribe in whichever podcast app you use. An amazing rating and review on those podcast apps does a world of good. Would you please do that for me now? Here’s Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
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