An ardent physicist, environmentalist and eco-activist with a fascinatingly unusual lifestyle, Joan Pick, aged 75, claims to have found the answer to today’s energy crisis. During her many years of extensive research in the field of energy conservation, she has collaborated with some the greatest minds of her time, her renowned correspondents including Eric Laithwaite , the “Father of the maglev train”, and has worked to condense a problem as vast and complex as the of limited nature of energy in to a simple and understandable model. Her breakthrough is one that is truly remarkable, where she views our Earth as not a planet but a budding business enterprise with limited supplies and resources.

Miss Pick’s fantastic scientific adventure started off at the editorial staff at a publication management called “Understanding Science” where she wrote articles for secondary school children about interesting scientific phenomenon. “I wrote about scientist and conservation of energy and even the curvature of space and time” she adds with a grin “until we ran out of all explicable science”

Later on in 1964, she worked as an industrial market researcher for a product planning company where she conducted “in-depth studies, usually single-handedly, invariably from start to finish”. The topics she covered ranges from electron microscopes to ion implantations to the price elasticity of sodium metal. When asked about her experience she says “It was real learning. I did physics- I did the hard science: I studied everything”

“But it was not until 1973 that I realised that we had got the energy questions totally wrong!” Miss Pick exclaims. “We were deeming solar energy as inadequate- what we needed was a practical, sustainable, economical metaphor on this planet”. And that was how Earth Enterprise was born – a business that manages the Earth’s resources so that no one can take more than their fair share. The unconventional idea involves the Earth being turned into a business venture, with a board responsible for managing its energy income and limited material resources. “It is an international integrated business that manages the earth and we are all shareholders and trustees, workers, consumers, and members of the board!”, she claims.

However, Miss Pick’s venture does not stop there. At the age of 75, where most of us would resort to a normal retired life, Miss Pick pushes the boundaries for eco-friendly living. Having not been in a vehicle since 1973 she only travels by walk or uses her trusty bicycle. When it comes to food she has consumes strict vegan diet. Heating? Nope, she uses a warm winter coat. “As a physicist by training I had a fair understanding of what resources are, how they are limited, and how I, personally, could consume in a manner in which I did not take more than my fair share”, she adds.

All in all, it is truly heart-warming to know that there are those who, amongst this materialistic world, care for the wellbeing of the planet. Miss Pick’s valuable insight is something to treasure for generations to come as it provides a fresh perspective in a matter that is so complicated to understand, and without these creative outlooks, we would never find a solution. Her attitude and dedication to this matter is one that many, including I, should adopt.

Shruti Cotra, Year 10, Newstead Wood School