In the article ‘a realistic energy strategy’, Tsvi Bisk, the director of the Center for Strategic Futurist Thinking, states that there is a realistic way in which we can produce clean and sustainable energy. The only thing necessary to produce clean and sustainable energy is a realistic energy policy. In his article he focuses on the United States and gives some examples of which measures work and which do not.

             Tsvi Bisk starts with a description of seven things that a realistic energy strategy must contain. What it boils down to is in short, that the policy must correspond with the thoughts and the way of life of the people and that the strategy must be in compliance with the economic rules. The first aspect of the named strategy is therefore that the people do not have to change their lifestyle fundamentally and that the public opinion must support the policies. This ‘democratic’ aspect of Tsvi Bisk’s ideas reflects the vision that policies only work if the population supports these policies. The economic rules with which the strategy must be in compliance, are that the policies must conform to the laws of economics. This means that the policies must be equitable and that they should also include the indirect costs of a policy.

            According to the writer there are many popular options which do not work. Some of these options are nuclear plants, hydrogen energy, palm oil and drilling for oil. With this, the writer distinguishes himself from many other writers that do support such measures. The strength of his article is that all the options which do not work, do not fit within his realistic energy strategy. On the other hand, Tsvi Bisk also names a few options which can be undertaken and which do fit within his realistic energy strategy. These measures are for example conservation and accumulation of greenhouse-emission credits, liquefaction of coal, biofuel from algae and the use of electric cars.

            The weak part of his article is the lack of the use of sources. The figures and facts which are used are not supported by footnotes, which make the article somewhat incredible. It does however not devalue the scientific importance of the article, since the presented measures to achieve a better energy strategy gives another insight in solving today’s energy problems.

           The part in which Tsvi Bisk describes ‘the deep future’, is a more philosophical part instead of a scientific one. In this part the writer describes what the world will be like in 2100 and what even might be possible at that time. Although it is interesting to read, it does not contribute to the scientific value of the article.

            All in all the article is an interesting one with new ways of thinking. The scientific value of the article is sometimes unclear, but despite this, the measures presented by the writer fully support his ideas of a realistic energy strategy.