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Good People and Bad People

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John Benson 108,787

Senior Consultant Microgrid Labs

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Microgrid Labs, Inc. Advisor: 2014 to Present Developed product plans, conceptual and preliminary designs for projects, performed industry surveys and developed...

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Jul 20, 2021Jul 20, 2021 3:25 pm GMT
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Yes there are good people, and bad people; heroes and villains. However, some people are not real good at identifying or differentiating these. This is specifically true when we look at decisions industrial and political leaders made several decades ago. All we can expect from these leaders then or now is that they made / make reasonable decisions based on the best information available at the time of that decision.

Since this is “Energy Central”, we will specifically look at decisions made by leaders in the energy sector and political decisions that effected this sector in the past.

We will also focus on one issue that has heavily influenced our way forward and will continue to do so, both in this sector and most other sectors for at least the next century: climate change.

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Matt Chester on Jul 20, 2021

It's an interesting way to frame it, John. Is someone a good or bad person based on the results of their energy decisions, or the intentions? Or perhaps the process (did the knowingly let people with clear bias influence their decision)? There are many policies where it seems the intent is good, but the results would unintentionally see disadvantages outweigh benefits.

I guess it's not terribly important to 'classify' these leaders as it is to just keep working towards the ideal results, but it's a fun mental exercise!

John Benson on Jul 21, 2021

Thanks for the comment, Matt.

Some people are totally self-centered and their decisions reflect this. Even so they occasionally make decisions that are positive for society.

Some people are really "good" but make bad decisions either by receiving bad information or other distortions of their perception of the situation.

Most people are somewhere in the middle.

But what the post is about are decisions that our leaders have made in the past regarding energy and climate change, and how they have worked out to date. These too are a mixture of good and bad, but once the momentum of the resulting events build, frequently they take on a life of their own and a certain inevitability. This, if nothing else, is interesting.

-John

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