MATT RIDLEY, British journalist, writer, and businessman. His latest book, "The Rational Optimist," argues that humanity's collective intelligence will save it from disaster.
Idea: Fill it up with ... shale gas
Mr. Ridley's concrete idea for boosting humanity's fortunes in 2011 is not concrete – it's a gas. "Shale gas," he says. "If we put our minds to turning that gas into energy, well, it would change everything."
Challenging everything from climate-change alarmism to the idea that too much affluence is bad for the soul, the book makes the case for growth, progress, and faith in humanity. It even coaxed a rare essay out of Bill Gates, who objected to Ridley's claim that Africa needs industrialization rather than aid (it needs both, Mr. Gates said).
Now, Ridley is feeling optimistic about a gas that is produced from shale and is widely used in the US but not elsewhere. "The discovery that this abundant, geographically ubiquitous, and potentially cheap gas is within our grasp is enormous," he says.
"Making use of this gas, which is even found in Blackpool [England], would challenge Russia's and Iran's stranglehold on gas, so it would change the geopolitical picture. It would be good for the environment, too, since gas has half the amount of carbon of coal for each unit of energy."
"One of the key reasons living standards rose from the 1800s onward was because of the cheapening of energy and the reliability of energy sources. A new cheap and reliable form of energy could give our material lives and aspirations yet another boost."
