The future is arriving faster than you think. Be ready for it.
Cheap solar electrons, artificial intelligence and robotics are rewriting energy, food, health and work. Optimistic Storm explains what is changing, who it affects, and why there is good reason for optimism.
1. Read the book
Three volumes on the biggest transition since the dawn of agriculture: the end of the fossil fuel era, how AI will feed us, heal us and end drudgery, and the technologies that won’t make the cut. Ebook, paperback and audio.
2. Follow the serialisation
Starting Monday 5 October. The whole series, released in short, readable instalments three times a week on Substack. Free to follow, delivered to your inbox.
3. Meet me for coffee
The coffee’s on me, until 4 November. Run a business on the Sunshine Coast? Let’s talk about how AI can lift your productivity and competitiveness, so you get ahead of the curve rather than playing catch-up.
The Optimistic Storm books
Part 1 – The End of the Fossil Fuel Era. For a million years we used our muscles. Then coal and steam, then oil and gas. Now we no longer need to burn 300 million years of stored carbon: we can capture electrons from sunlight instead. Energy and transport are being disrupted, and it is happening faster than the forecasts.
Part 2 – AI: Food to Feed All, Better Health, End Drudgery and Restore Our Environment. AI is reshaping knowledge work, robotics is ending dirty, dangerous and dull toil, and new food and health technologies open the way to abundance and a regreened planet.
Part 3 – Nuclear, Hydrogen and Other Tech Fails. Not every innovation wins. Some belong to the old era; others fail on technology, economics or politics. Knowing which is which saves money and time.
The serialisation starts Monday
Readers told me the books were dense. So I’ve broken all three into around 150 short posts, each written for the people it affects: homeowners, renters, farmers, business owners, investors and policymakers. Three streams, three days a week:
- Mondays – Electrons Not Molecules. Energy, climate and transport.
- Wednesdays – The Debunk. Hydrogen, nuclear and carbon capture under the microscope.
- Fridays – The Long Read. AI, food, health and personal essays.
Is your business ready for AI? Let’s have a coffee – my shout.
AI is the biggest productivity shift most of us will see in our working lives. The businesses that adopt it early will do more with less, serve customers faster and win work from those who wait. The ones that don’t will feel it in their margins.
Over a coffee we’ll look at your business and work out:
- Where AI can save you hours each week, starting now
- Which tasks, roles and customer touchpoints are about to change
- Practical first steps that don’t need a big IT budget
- How to stay ahead of competitors rather than catch up to them
I’ve started ten businesses, including a successful solar company, mentored Queensland businesses through Mentoring for Growth for 18 years, and I use AI every day to run my own publishing, websites and community work. I’ve seen what happens to businesses that wait out a technology shift. No jargon, no hard sell.
Coffee’s on me for bookings made before Wednesday 4 November 2026. Or call 0414 757 540. Sunshine Coast based.
About Hugh Butler
Scientist (PhD), entrepreneur and author of four books. Fifty years watching climate and energy change, and 35 years commercialising new technology in established markets. My lens on every new technology is the same three questions: does it work, does it pay, and will people and institutions let it happen?