Welcome to David Hirst's Home Page

Welcome to My Home Page

Introduction

This Home Page offers links to all the material David has made public, as well as to ventures with which he is associated.

My interests

David Hirst

I now find myself to be an Inventor and Consultant, perhaps a Technologist or a Systems Analyst (in the broader sense of systems). My career discipline has been IT. I have also been, I suppose, an entrepreneur, although current pursuits cannot yet be disclosed.

My main interests are electricity, explored in "A Vision for Electricity", and conservation, an interest that is still evolving rapidly. But I find it difficult to keep my interests focused, and I share below some aspects of thinking in other areas.

As a Consultant, my main strengths lie in exploring issues, particularly ones involving technical or scientific understanding, and in creative thinking, both to spark others, and be sparked by them. Many years within Ernst & Young gives one broad capabilities, and, I am good at explaining things in ways that help policy-makers understanding. I do not always agree that the way things are is appropriate! The evolution of RLtec has been a valuable experience, bringing awareness of the risks and challenges of entrepreneurship.

To learn more about me, you can download a short CV/Resume from here.

Interests and pursuits include:

  • Shipping. For several rewarding years I had Shipping Emissions Abatement and Trading, or SEAaT, as a client. My focus was the campaigning and supporting projects for Emissions Trading for sulphate and nitrogenous emissions, as this would encourage the wider adoption of seawater scrubbing. There is a long way to go on this, and I am disappointed in the direction IMO eventually adopted.
  • Ecameter, a system for continuous emissions monitoring. Particularly designed for shipping.
  • Road Traffic. A recent interest, as optimising traffic flows over time is a very similar problem to leveling electricity load, and it looks as if there is scope to apply similar solutions.
  • Community Heat and Electricity. An effort to encourage and show the virtues of a heat distribution infrastructure for sustained and sustainable improvements in energy efficiency.
  • ePacks and eLarder. A set of concepts for radically reducing, even removing, packaging waste, while enhancing aspects of urban living. A nice idea.
  • RiverSimple, a project by friends to design and build an advanced, highly efficient fuel cell car, and also to build an organisation that has sustainability built in to its structure.
  • Campaign against CO2 sequestration. Storing huge quantities of CO2 will create risks and hazards substantially greater than any we have so far faced, including nuclear waste.
  • CarbonSense is a group aiming to help organisations and people more actively understand the issues of climate change and what they can do about it.
  • Contraction and Convergence, as developed by the Global Commons Institute (www.gci.org.uk).

I am interested in all aspects of sustainability, including Gaia, Deep Ecology, Natural Capitalism, Business and Sustainability at Schumacher College, and IT. I follow, with some skepticism, Corporate Social Responsibility issues, as, despite being an entrepreneur seeking investment funds, I cannot wholly buy in to the Friedman concept that "stockholder value is all". Too simplistic and too easy to disconnect from ethical considerations.

I am able and willing to contribute time and effort (such as remains) to worthwhile projects that contribute to sustainability. Fees (if any) will reflect the social value. Do call (+44 7831 405443) or email if you think I can help.

Not much of what I write gets formally published, but I am working on getting some of it on the web:

  • The Environmental Case for Seawater Scrubbing has a "home" page, with the latest version, here.
  • "A Drive through the West" is an account (and pictures) of a trip across America in May 2000.
  • WebMemorial, Deathsalert and Bereavement are business concepts that followed some work with the Co-op and their funeral service.
  • Seoul & Korea: thoughts and pictures following a trip to Seoul in early 2000.

I live with my wife Alison and daughter Eleanor in Brighton, and we share some aspects of our lives here.

Last updated DRH 16th April 2011.