Adrift

Hi Bright Ideas.

Last week was a new experience for me. The kind of experience where news breaks that my employer is dissolving the clean energy news team at Greentech Media, leaving me and my colleagues in search of a job come mid-March. And then it became, shall we say, ~a matter of keen interest~ in the court of #EnergyTwitter.

I’m a fairly private person, and I can’t say that my employment status had ever before provoked discussion among a dispersed population of friends, professional acquaintances and complete strangers. But in the end, this was perhaps the most encouraging couple of days in my professional life: the reporting we did at GTM took clean energy seriously long before the world at large did, and our readers made sure we felt that significance.

Cameron Bard @CameronBard

An enormous thank you to the brilliant writers and insightful editors at @greentechmedia. GTM was the first publication that made us, the clean energy industry, feel seen, heard, and covered—producing articles you were proud to share with friends and family members.

So to everyone who sent their heartfelt thanks, it’s been an honor. To everyone who sent jobs offers or leads, you rock and I’ll be in touch.

And to all my new subscribers here at Bright Ideas, welcome aboard! I’d usually be making some fun analytical point about the rise of clean energy right now, but this is a special circumstance.

I’m still formulating my thoughts on my time at GTM, and GTM’s time on this earth, so I’ll share those when they’re more fully formed. And for those of you who asked why this cessation is happening, I’ll have to defer comment to the company that is still my employer for a few more weeks. Here’s how they explained the reasoning:

Wood Mackenzie acquired Greentech Media in 2016 and in 2019 integrated the GTM research practice into our ever-expanding Power and Renewables research team. Since then we have continued to use greentechmedia.com and GTM Squared as vehicles to present green technology and renewables news. Recognizing the strategic importance of the energy transition to Wood Mackenzie, the time has now come for us to fully integrate Greentech Media.  

Beginning next month, GTM staples such as our podcasts, market insights, webinars, white papers, and an expanded portfolio of renewables events will move to Wood Mackenzie platforms. As part of this, we will stop publishing new content to greentechmedia.com and GTM Squared sites mid-March and instead build out free-to-access thought leadership, insights and analysis on woodmac.com. 

Hope that clears things up.

Your loyal vehicle,

~Julian

This week in quarantine: Nautical escapism

The salons are closed on the high seas. (20th Century Fox)

I will, however, include my usual feature of sharing something I’ve done to liven up the quarantimes. This week, it’s escaping into the world of English Naval fiction. The contemporary journalism business landscape doesn’t look so choppy compared to the actual waters of the English Channel with a squall blowing in from the Atlantic and an enemy frigate bearing down on you.

I started with the first Horatio Hornblower novel, in which the teenage officer learns how to confront workplace bullies (beat ‘em at whist and then challenge them to a duel), keep his cargo dry (especially when it’s rice), and even how to properly quarantine after visiting a plague-ridden port of call (some things never go out of fashion).

I chased that with Master and Commander, the 2003 film adaptation of a few novels by Patrick O’Brian about fictional Captain Jack Aubrey. Russell Crowe’s dashing ponytail is pretty much what my hair has become since the barbers shut down.

Beyond his captivating coiffure, I found his model of leadership appealing. On a ship far out at sea, chasing a French privateer around South America, he knows every choice he makes really matters for every member of the crew. Aubrey on occasion has to cut loose some subordinates, literally, but he only does so after personally weighing the cost, and when the stakes of not acting are certain doom for the rest of the ship.

So here’s a question for you, readers: what are the other nautical books or films I should check out in my (soon to be abundant) spare time? I’d love to dig into the Battle of Trafalgar, if anyone has any leads on that. Reply with your thoughts, on this or anything else, really.