John Hodge (@jghodge.bsky.social)

I know science can’t fix the world — here’s why I do it anyway The world faces energy shortages as fossil fuels are phased out. Research can’t go on as normal. working at a research institute that Why am I doing science? As a scientist focuses on food security, I’m acutely aware of the accelerating ecological and climatic breakdown that is occurring around us. What part should scientists play in such a fragile world? For many years, like most of my peers, I thought that science was part of the solution. More knowledge and innovation would allow societies to adapt to and mitigate environmental damage. That belief began to crack in 2018, when I discovered the work of Jean-Marc Jancovici, an energy and climate specialist. His message is clear: our world is built on abundant energy, around 80% of which has come from fossil fuels over the past 50 years. Because supplies are limited, energy consumption will peak in decades — sooner if humans attempt to limit climate change. To keep global warming below 1.5 °C by 2100, the use of fossil fuels must fall by 5–8% each year — a pace that is too fast for low-carbon energy to keep up with. Restricted energy supplies will shrink economies and force people to make hard choices — whether to travel less, live in a smaller home or do more labour manually. .... https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00310-8?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky