Robert Metcalfe, an Internet pioneer and the inventor of the Ethernet technology that underlies most networks, has turned his attention in recent years to green technology and the Smart Grid. He's got plenty to say about what the Internet can teach the Smart Grid --- and he's also got some green experts grumbling that he's out of touch and in over his head.
Metcalfe is now a venture capitalist at Polaris Venture, and he's been giving presentations about what he calls the Enernet. He gave the keynote speech at the GreenNet conference last week outlining some of his thoughts about the Smart Grid.
One of his main points is heresy to many in the green movement: The Smart Grid should be built not with an eye towards energy conservation, but instead with an eye towards distributing massive amounts of energy. In fact, he believes that energy should ultimately become "a squanderable abundance." To buoy his point, he uses the growth of the Internet.
According to CNet coverage of his speech, he said:
"When we set out to build the Internet, we began with conserving bandwidth, with compression, packet switching, multiplex terminals, and buffer terminals aimed at conserving bandwidth. Now, decades later, are we using less bandwidth now than before? Of course not. We are using million times more bandwidth. If the Internet is any guide, when we are done solving energy, we are not going to use less energy but much, much more--a squanderable abundance, just like we have in computation."Metcalfe admitted that a number of scientists believe that only a given amount of energy can be produced, but he disagrees. According to Cnet, he argued that
"There were scientists in the Internet saying that there were certain laws of nature that could not be violated, but the engineers and scientists figured out ways around them. So I am not ready to concede to these scientists."Metcalfe also believes that worries about global warming are a "bubble" --- too much attention is being paid to it by consumers, politicians, and business. He thinks that's a good thing, though, because bubbles solve problems, and he thinks this one will solve global warming.