“I’d put my money on the Sun & solar energy” – Thomas Edison

Thomas Alva Edison in 1911
Credit: Alevo

If the insight in the quote in the title makes it look like a modern fabrication, there is evidence that it was only one of the insights in a conversation between three extraordinary minds: Thomas Edison, Henry Ford & Harvey Firestone. All three seemed to understand that fossil fuels are a finite resource, & wind, solar & tides are suitable replacements.

The conversation took place in March 1931 – shortly before Edison's death on 18 October 1931¹ – apparently without a knowledge of the impact of fossil fuels on climate. Although discovered in 1896,² the role of carbon dioxide in climate was ignored until well after the time of the conversation between Edison, Ford & Firestone.

Quote Investigator – “I’d Put My Money on the Sun & Solar Energy”
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/08/09/solar/
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¹ Wikipedia: “Thomas Edison”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison

² S.M. Enzler MSc, “History of the greenhouse effect & global warming”, http://www.lenntech.com/greenhouse-effect/global-warming-history.htm / We are like tenant farmers chopping down the fence around our house for fuel when we should be using nature’s inexhaustible sources of energy sun wind and tide Firestone responded that oil and coal and wood couldn’t last forever They’d been tackling rubber He wondered how much hard research was going into harnessing the wind for example Windmills hadn’t changed much in a thousand years Ford said there were enormously powerful tides for example the Bay of Fundy Scientists had only been playing with the question so far Edison said I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy What a source of power I hope we don’t have to wait till oil and coal run out before we tackle that. I wish I had more years left /