The Wires That Bind: Electrification and Community Renewal

Quarterly Essay #89

by Saul Griffith

A compelling vision of green energy at a local level

The country is at a crossroads. In The Wires That Bind, inventor, engineer and visionary Saul Griffith reveals the world that awaits us if we make the most of Australia’s energy future.

Griffith paints an inspiring yet practical picture of empowered local communities acting collectively when it comes to renewable energy, and benefiting financially. He considers both equity and security – an end to dependence on foreign oil, for instance. He explores the rejuvenation of regional Australia, as well as the rise of a new populist movement driven by Australian women. And he explodes once and for all the trees v. jobs binary.

This is an electrifying essay about building a better world, one community at a time.

‘We need a realistic and achievable vision for the future because the future is coming fast. We have only about one-quarter of one century, twenty-five years, one human generation, to get ourselves out of this climate quandary. If we get this right, if we design the incentives and the policies and the regulations correctly, communities will thrive. Every Australian will benefit economically, socially and even health-wise. So let’s hit the road.’ Saul Griffith, The Wires That Bind

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Australia, Climate Change, Essays, Environment, Technology

147 pages, Paperback

Published March 27, 2023

About the author

Saul Griffith (born 1974) is an Australian American inventor. He is the founder or co-founder of seven companies, including Otherlab (where he is currently CEO), Makani Power, and Instructables.

Reviews

[Henry Hulme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, I get it. I get the argument that we won't be able to shift away from capitalism before we need to address the climate. I get the advocacy for a neo-capitalist communitarianism. Don't agree, necessarily, but get it.

I guess it just feels sad that the best we can hope for is the land and gentry that run our housing mass-cartel get to make money off their (let's not forget, stolen) roofs. Which is not to say that Griffith doesn't give dues to the renters and those living in public housing, of course. There's some plausible (neo-capitalist?) band aids given to us as well.

In fact, I'm not really critical of the arguments. I get it: I'm not the target. If you accept the premise that wealthy, land owning Australian's by and large aren't going to be willing to let go of their (often) not-so-hard earned luxuries (and will vote out any progressive government that stands in their way), then the solutions proposed here might be the best we can get. The maths of it is very compelling, and it makes for an easy sell in Mosman. It's just hard for me to feel satisfied by this potential "protopia".

In short, forgive me for not being thrilled on behalf of my landlord that they'll be able to reap the profits off my electricity bills instead of AGL.

[Brodie Gron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saul is my hero.

[Matthew Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the beginning I was waiting for points to be addressed, lo and behold they actually did get addressed. When I was thinking to myself, Gee, this sounds good but I wish the author actually proved his points, inevitably, he did. Then I thought, well, what's the plan? He provided it. This felt like a well thought out why, how and when kind of essay, and I enjoyed it.


I actually learnt a great bit in this book, and I was pushed further to believe that solar and wind is the way to go in alot of areas, but not all. (I'm still hot and cold on the topic of nuclear energy, which I don't think should be dismissed entirely)


I don't think all of his points where perfect, or overly convincing, I actually disagreed with quite a bit, but the topics that hit the mark hit the mark with perfection.


While I am more libertarian on most topics, or extremely conservative/progressive on other, I actually don't think that this should be a political issue, but a serious issue that we do need to address for humanity in general, wish it could just be seen as an earth problem than a leftist ideology. (Same as monopolization)


And also, while the ideal world would be getting everyone to follow along and governments to mandate such changes, it does restrict freedom of choice, which I'm not overly for, but I still understand at the same time. Chapter 8's suggestion of retraining individuals who work in other fields to learn about electric is kind of harsh, it's giving 'learn to code' vibes. Some fellows have been working in the same field for like triple the time I've been alive, it'll be harder for others to be forced into a different, unfamiliar position.

I'm not a car guy myself, couldn't give a shit about cars, so for me it's no biggie if I got a tesla or a shit box, but, I recognise that there ARE car guys out there and it would be difficult to accommodate for them if you just label them as selfish (not saying the author is, but people most definitely think this way), so finding a middle ground is the only option, I don't think it is all or nothing when it comes to cars, however when it comes to public transport, airplanes and other emission technology, sure, electrify the crap out of that, I don't care what powers my home as long as it works, I don't care what plane I fly as long as I land safely, I don't care what my food gets cooked with as long as it fills my tummy and tastes real good.


On the topic of cycling:

While I agree that other countries benefit greatly from the use of cycling for small trips (Japan is a great example) - The roads that Australia, or at least where I am from, Melbourne, do not support the use of bikes safely. The author noted in a chapter that a truck driver screamed at him for riding his electric bike on the road, deeming that it was unsafe. The author responded by saying that it was only unsafe because he was on the road, however, I disagree. There needs to be more bike lanes solely for bikes on the road before it is safe. A single bike going 20 km an hour on an 80 km road taking up one whole lane, IS ridiculously unsafe. Just like I don't think you should dismiss car guys, don't dismiss the cyclist dispisers, there's a reason why everyone thinks a certain way, and cyclist's, quite frankly, are kinda maybe a little bit annoying on the main roads. Before we advocate for more bikers on the road, the roads actually need to accommodate for them with their own lanes. Then, I can stop slowing down to 20km on an 80 road waiting for a gap to merge into while I stare at your emaculate calves.


However, the idea of electric powered bike lanes that this book suggests alongside the use of free fruit trees planted alongside them paints are really promising, cozy future that I wish we could get. Although, I feel that my nouna would kind of rack all the fruits before the cyclists get there.


I think the renter's section, as alot of others have pointed out, didn't provide correct answers or solutions, and in other areas, I think he got lost in the sauce, and other sections felt like it could have been written by someone else. But overall, while staying on the topic of renewable energy, I'd rate it a solid 7.5

[Joel D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saul Griffith is an excellent communicator and PR person for the clean energy transition, and he showcases that skill in this essay. While too many other QEs have poor structure and wandering prose, Griffith writes a crisp and compelling piece that really gives you a sense of what the transition can look like, how it will happen, and how we will benefit. This is a very useful service!

I did find as I got further in to the essay that I noticed some things that didn't work as well for me. The section on 'renters' was short, tokenistic, and...wrong. I appreciate that the author went to the effort of acknowledging the different situation and needs of this group, but maybe it would have been a good chance to be like 'hey, I don't have all the answers, but we sure need to figure this one out!'. Rather his approach is to confidently postulate his own answers. And being enough of an expert to see through that in this case, I worry that he was doing the same trick in other areas. Somewhat similarly he seems to see little to no role for thermal efficiency, even though it is basically essential to reduce energy loads and allow us to shift from gas.

Beyond these content criticisms, I found the thread of the essay did get a bit lost over time. It opens really strongly, but then later chapters feel a bit more random. In his acknowledgments he thanks multiple others for helping to author the essay and, to be honest, it felt a bit like this - as if different chapters, or sections thereof, had been written by different people, and then they have come together in a pastiche. It's not the worst but you lose some of the crystalline purpose in the opening pages.

Overall though I really enjoy how effectively Griffith cheerleads for the transition. I think it's a great example to set that we can (and should) talk about reducing emissions in a way that leaves people excited for the positive transformation in their own lives and an abundance agenda that makes us all better off.

[Timothy Dymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you know somebody who is interested, but sceptical, about our capacity to ‘electrify everything’ - this is the Quarterly Essay for them. Saul Griffith is extremely convincing about the technical feasibility of wide scale electrification of the everyday life of communities, as an essential prelude to adopting low-emissions and renewable energy sources. Basically we do not have any problems in this area that we cannot solve!

If you are already on board with this idea (as I am) the Essay provides you with a ready source of arguments and debating points. Where it gets murkier is the politics. Griffith is fully aware of the political barriers to electrification of the type he envisages - he has been active in the USA for a large part of his career and was a regular visitor to the White House and Capitol Hill before returning to Australia. However his particular path forward (in Australia) relies on a form of communitarianism propelled by ‘Teal’ style politicians. In this vision, communities are linked to corporations via independent Members of Parliament to pursue common electrification goals. Griffith is aware of broader systemic critiques of capitalism as inherently climate destroying, but he argues that we just don’t have time to ditch capital given the urgency of the crisis.

He is likely right about this, but it strikes as discordant note with his other ambitions. If we can electrify everything, why can’t we do other things as well?

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Griffith crafts an interested thesis for Australia to achieve their Emma’s on reduction targets and other environmental goals. Other commentators focus their analysis on centralised power, predominantly change the type of power than reforming the system itself. Griffith subverts the paradigm by arguing that we should still be connected through the electricity system but households should play a greater role as a generator and distributor of electricity.

At first I thought this was very similar to the idea of personal responsibility for carbon emissions. The idea of personal responsibility was pioneered by the gas industry in the wake of antrophorgenic climate change. However, Griffith reconceputaliseed rather as a partnership with the business whereby households have to change their systems so that the business change is effective. Further he argues that shifts economic activity to the community.

Despite the validity of the thesis, it is at time poorly argued.

The book moves quickly through each of the sections. The discussion of the political philosophy is covered quickly with discussion of different political orders. It does lack depth and often had many hasty conclusion but I quests that is the point of the short form essays. I guess that is the genre but other essays narrow there focus.

Some of the calculations are also based on back of the paper maths and sometimes seem flimsy. However, they generally make the point nonetheless.

[Ben Lever · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling look at the bright future that a clean, green, electric future could hold, and the broader social and economic (non-environmental) benefits that future could bring us, if we get it right.

Griffith expands on his views on the transport sector outlined in his recent book The Big Switch, and unfortunately doesn't get this quite right, and burns a bit of the benefit-of-the-doubt I gave him at the time. He makes a number of mistakes on questions of land transport (mistakes which conveniently favour his quite pro-car stance) and, while he rightly treats some of the hype around VTOL flying cars with disdain, treats the prospect of increased electric aviation to regional areas with a credulity that does not serve him well.

His idea of allowing corporations to offset their emissions through household electrification is also a swing and a miss.

Nonetheless very well worth the read, even if you've read The Big Switch, because of the additional exploration of the social and economic outcomes we should be aiming for in the new green economy.

[Tom J · Rating 4 out of 5]

the kind of clear eyed, forwarding thinking optimism that essentially does not exist in australia. fantastic, well written, and generally conveyed in a way that the layperson could easily understand, this is the first thing i've read in a long time that gave me a genuine sense of hope for our response to climate change. hopefully this is widely read and its recommendations followed.

there's only a few things holding it back from 5 stars in my estimation:
- the author spent a lot of time in the US and it has given him an accent that sounds absolutely horrendous to the australian ear. his r's dip in and out of rhoticity with no rhyme or reason, and it makes the audiobook (i read this on audible) almost unlistenable.
- there's a section where the author seems to need to pad the length a bit, so he just starts listing Good Women He Has Met. i understand the concept he's going for but it feels deeply out of place and entirely unjustified in the narrative he's written. you could safely excise this section and the book would be far more focused

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Griffith has written an inspiring and fascinating essay that lays out some of the paths Australia could take on the journey to our energy consumption future. How is it possible that he made the sections on statistics and specifics of energy production interesting?

His goal is necessarily ambitious, and his language is strong and energetic. The cost of this language is there is less time spent quelling the everyday human's anxieties that their initial plunge into electrification is not as risky to their financial stability as it sounds like it might be.

[Alexander Barnstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having already read some of Saul Griffith's other work, I found this lacking new insight into the demand side conversation of the energy transition. His argument for community level and consumer driven change is an important one, but little further developed from his earlier work. No doubt still a message worth repeating. A good snippet for those who want to hear about practical day to day and appliance based sustainable changes we can make - a concern for macro-economists trying to balance demand and supply over our third industrial revolution.

[Dulcie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Coming from a family of engineers and doctors (I'm the random finance type) I have grown up with precise, mathematically precise ways of thinking and problem solving. I was therefore expecting thorough, reasoned and accurately configured arguments in this QE.
Instead all I have encountered is woolly headed babble that is frankly negative to the arguments (I think) that Griffith is trying to propound.
In summary, shit.
Reading the t&con your Tesla battery will be more rewarding than reading this tripe.

[Cassidy Chellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the greatest challenges facing the Australian energy industry, particularly amid its transition to renewable energy, is that of effectively communicating long-term, multi-decade strategies in a manner that resonates with the public, walking the precarious path of balancing optimism with realism.

This essay brilliantly simplifies the complexities of the upcoming decade in electrification and decarbonisation, while offering pragmatic community solutions throughout. It is a brilliantly accessible read for anyone interested in the topic.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the best essays I have read in this publication. Practical, thoughtful and erudite, it is a simple plan for our future. It cuts well through the nonsense and misinformation that you hear from the politicians and the Murdoch disinformation machine and gets to what we need to do and how. Absolutely excellent and should be compulsory reading for anyone remotely interested in Australia's energy future.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saul presents a clear vision for the benefits and possibilities of an electrified future in a bite sized version that I suspect draws on his previous works. While I have some questions about some aspects, It has inspired me to create a transition plan for our household and shifted my thinking on the push factors for climate change response.

[Adam Fennessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a thoughtful, well researched and inspiring Quarterly Essay. Saul Griffith has done impressive work on how electrifying our infrastructure and economy is a fast route to decarbonising our world to address the alarming threat of global warming. Well worth the read. It is narrated by the author himself, which lends it more impact and authenticity.

[Steve H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great synthesis that captures the challenges of the current moment. Are we ready for a new phase? Saul outlines the pathways that are available to embrace renewable electricity and transition to 100% electric. Are you ready to make the switch? This essay might just be the spark you are looking for.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the Audible and I'm going to go buy the paperback.
He's an engineer who can communicate, it's rare and powerful. He's also a very successful businessman who hasn't lost touch with his community and normal life. It makes for a very approachable read that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a path to reduce their emissions but is sick of corporate greenguilting.

[Darren Rathbone · Rating 5 out of 5]

An optimistic view of what Australia could to battle climate change.

With so much doom and gloom on the subject of climate change, it is refreshing to read an optimistic position on what is possible if we all come together as a community and how Australia is well positioned to be world leaders.

[Robert Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in a single sitting on Boxing Day. Living just up the road in 2515, Saul Griffith gives an intelligent and clearly argued perspective on the need for collective, community based action to electrify our homes and transport. Impossible for me to argue with anything he says. Brings a much needed sense of hope to this ailing world of overconsumption and corporate power.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

The letters in response to Katherine Murphy’s Lone Wolf QE are the best part of this (and they’re great). Saul has entirely phoned it in here with an essay that’s just an abridged version of his prior work. Boo-urns. Inspire me, man - it’s your only job.

[Iain Hawkes · Rating 2 out of 5]

This didn't do much for me. It felt far too unfocused, and the author alternated between what felt like airy fairy peans to electrification, while sometimes switching to dry presentation on stats at the like. Ideally, this would have met in the middle ground, but it didn't.

[Rueben · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly very convincing and inspirational, but I can't help but feel that we've been here before, leading this to feel more like science fiction rather than fact.

[Holstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Community over corporations, climate over coin"

[Robert]

This is a fantastic book. A very optimistic and pragmatic approach to this topic, which is frequently politicised.

[Rachel Bullock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook version narrated by the author. Only downside was no PDF of the graphs which were discussed. Enthusiastic delivery and interesting ideas and possibilities.

[Tim Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barry Jones once authored a book called Sleepers Awake! This is the catch cry of this essay on Ausyralia's future energy sources.

[Roseb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars. Some excellent ideas and acknowledgments in here. I hope all our politicians read it!

[Pat Nino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting! Didn’t like how big he was on electric cars. Cars suck (i love driving) and we should build a world where we don’t need them.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really really really good. A style of climate activism that everyone, regardless of politics, can get behind (which is what we need for a mass climate movement).