Global Warming is over.

[phillipj]

i'm sure you realize there currently is no way to make renewables take the place of fossil fuels, that the technology does not exist. It's not a simple as you make it sound.

They already are though, because of the economics of it. It's gotten that cheap. The tech does exist, it's advanced so much. Solar used to be a joke as far as being cost effective! It was like 20x the cost of coal in the 90's. Now it is cheaper than coal. And wind is right there too. And it makes up something like 2% of the US energy source (wind a bit more) -- so there's only room for growth. And as adoption increases prices will only go down. Huge businesses and governments, etc., they want to save money -- they won't do this because they care about the environment.

And imagine if you took out our subsidies for fossil fuels -- $20 Billion + per year -- and you level the playing field, made it a true free market. It'd happen even faster.

[ForcedFirebird]

i'm sure you realize there currently is no way to make renewables take the place of fossil fuels, that the technology does not exist. It's not a simple as you make it sound.

China decided to focus inwards after the '08 recession, and actually created an internal flourishing economy by doing huge gov't infrastructure programs. Well, industrial China is now 40% renewable energy, while the US is about 17. Total in 2019 China used 7225mwh in 2019, US used 4120, so technically China produces almost as much as the entire US needs in renewable electricity. In 2008 China was only consuming about 2800 and US 3800. Seeing us "westerners" considered China a third world country in the not-so-distant past, I find that rather impressive.

Sure the auto industry is a bit different, but to say the "tech doesn't exist" is just an excuse not to pursue it. In 1963 moon landing equipment didn't exist, yet man landed there in '69. As mentioned before, if we concentrated on it as if we really did want an outcome in short order, it would happen - but - "for now there's plenty of fossil fuels, so why bother?" attitude curbs that ambition.

[gwb72tii]

Sure the massive global downturn will make fossil fuels cheap - it has- but renewables like solar and wind have progressed so far, and continue to, and they may still be cheapest. And that is ultimately going to turn the tide and cause more and more big decision makers to adopt. The 2008 collapse was a blow to renewables, especially Solar at the time, but it made that industry way leaner and stronger and Countries other than ours, namely China, doubled down and invested heavily. It ended up progressing the industry further along that it would have been otherwise.

It is sort of mind blowing that the Country could have converted the entire US Power grid to 100 percent renewable energy with less than the money/debt we've blown on the COVID-19 response, which is also much less than what we've spent on the "War on Terror" over the last decade. This country could achieve a lot if we had our priorities in different places.

i'm sure you realize there currently is no way to make renewables take the place of fossil fuels, that the technology does not exist. It's not a simple as you make it sound.

[ForcedFirebird]

It is sort of mind blowing that the Country could have converted the entire US Power grid to 100 percent renewable energy with less than the money/debt we've blown on the COVID-19 response, which is also much less than what we've spent on the "War on Terror" over the last decade. This country could achieve a lot if we had our priorities in different places.

"...we do not do things because they are easy, we do them because they are hard..." can mean two very different things, pending how they are looked at. America is way overdue for an infrastructure renovation.

[phillipj]

Sure the massive global downturn will make fossil fuels cheap - it has- but renewables like solar and wind have progressed so far, and continue to, and they may still be cheapest. And that is ultimately going to turn the tide and cause more and more big decision makers to adopt. The 2008 collapse was a blow to renewables, especially Solar at the time, but it made that industry way leaner and stronger and Countries other than ours, namely China, doubled down and invested heavily. It ended up progressing the industry further along that it would have been otherwise.

It is sort of mind blowing that the Country could have converted the entire US Power grid to 100 percent renewable energy with less than the money/debt we've blown on the COVID-19 response, which is also much less than what we've spent on the "War on Terror" over the last decade. This country could achieve a lot if we had our priorities in different places.

[mrsleeve]

Depends on your perspective.... and how you view how the world works.

[Kershaw]

And that's a good thing?

[mrsleeve]

I gots news for all of you. this little flu bug has repercussions and its going to set the "green energy" agendas back about a decade. Conventional fuels are about to get very cheep for the foreseeable future and economically shove green to the back burner for at least the next decade

[digger]

Well digger, how about that pandemic you asked for? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i was imagining a pandemic that was more deadly across the board. With this pandemic the most devistating consequnces are with the elderly thats not to say younder people cant die but it seems even if governments had let it run its course it probably isnt enough. Perhaps the intrevention measures of governments around the world will impact the economy and society to the extent that there still is a stepwise reduction

[LEANE30]

Well digger, how about that pandemic you asked for? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ForcedFirebird]

Interesting note;

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/technology-51595285

[ForcedFirebird]

Not surprised with the extra high temps the lately you guys, Digger. Earth is at perihelion, and the southern hemisphere is in summer.

[digger]

A pandemic that wipes out 80% of the population is probably the only thing that can stop it.

People are hypocrites they want climate action by everyone else but themself and anything that impacts them they whinge about.

Now the focus should be dealing with the inevitable

[marshallnoise]

The climate is always changing but 47.8c (118F) today in western suburbs of Sydney is BS hot

EDIT: ended up cracking 48.9c (120F)

Ok. Let's say I agree with you and it's man's fault for the hot weather. What is the cure?

[digger]

The climate is always changing but 47.8c (118F) today in western suburbs of Sydney is BS hot

EDIT: ended up cracking 48.9c (120F)