PQB organist, science journalist program green vitality live performance

Organist Jenny Vincent and Bob McDonald, CBC science journalist, are back again with one more science themed concert in Parksville.

The Long term is Now will mix science and the arts in an optimistic celebration of green electrical power at Knox United Church (345 Pym St.) on Oct. 22.

McDonald will discuss about promising methods to assist the planet these types of as harnessing photo voltaic energy, employing ocean wave-generated electricity and even advancements in nuclear fusion. Two huge screens overhead will deliver visuals relevant to his subject areas.

“You’re likely to listen to some wonderful songs. Jenny’s a excellent classical organist,” he reported.

Vincent will enjoy organ choices ranging from Bach to Chopin to ‘Chariots of Fire’, and alternate with McDonald as he points out (a handful of minutes at a time) 8 distinct subjects from his newest e book The Future is Now: Fixing the Local weather Disaster With Today’s Technologies.

McDonald explained he is optimistic about the cleanse electricity changeover simply because people are much more informed of than ever of climate change’s results — and we already have the understanding for widespread renewable energy adoption.

“There’s much more electrical power falling out of the sky on the earth in one hour than all of civilization utilizes in a calendar year, so there’s no scarcity,” he stated. “We just have to collect it up and the technological know-how to do that exists.”

McDonald will clarify how strength works, and then go on to photo voltaic, wind, wave electric power, geothermal electric power, nuclear and fusion power, rethinking oil (without degrading the setting) and strategies for improved electrical power performance.

“It’s not just a technological challenge although. It is a social issue and it is a political difficulty and it’s an financial situation,” he mentioned. “It’s however truly worth carrying out it since the expense of doing very little — executing enterprise as usual, is even worse.”

This will be the 3rd edition of a science-themed live performance by Vincent and McDonald, immediately after Cosmic Odyssey, influenced by area, and Earth, Wind, Fireplace and Lifestyle — which concentrated on the planet Earth.

McDonald mentioned he hopes individuals will consider inexperienced vitality choices this kind of as setting up a heat pump or solar panels.

“I fulfilled a person lately who set photo voltaic panels on his roof, and he drives an electric powered motor vehicle and he costs his car from his home, so he drives for free. Which is the foreseeable future,” he said.

Another promising green electrical power development is improvements in nuclear fusion technological innovation, according to McDonald.

“Fusion has been 10 years away for 50 yrs, is the joke. But we’re obtaining near,” he said. “There’s a plant staying crafted in France suitable now, ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), that’s below design, and they are anticipating to get much more out than they set in, which has constantly been the major problem.”

In order for fusion to take place, the plasma produced will have to be heated to 150 million levels Celsius — which signifies no container can maintain it and therefore it is suspended by extremely highly effective magnets, McDonald defined. Powering the magnets demands a great deal of energy, and currently it is more than what is created by the fusion — but ITER is a action to resolving that issue.

Canada bid on making the ITER plant, but shed out to France. On the other hand there is at minimum a person promising nuclear energy advancement in our country — modest nuclear reactors (not significantly more substantial than an place of work desk) that can be developed underground and ability a tiny town.

McDonald mentioned with all the doom and gloom out there about climate change, he wished to discover some answers — and was happy when he uncovered there are lots of we can put into practice with existing know-how.

“The other factor you can do is encourage younger people to turn out to be interested in this things — simply because it is their long run, and give them a perception of hope, and say yeah, we can do this.”

McDonald has been a science journalist and an creator for much more than 40 years, most notably as the host of the CBC radio method Quirks and Quarks.

Tickets to The Foreseeable future is Now are $30 and on-line at Eventbrite. The concert starts off at 2 p.m.

Arts and cultureLive musicParksville