Why Renewables Can’t Save the Planet

[Sanguine]

This is written by a green warrior who has taken the time and effort to think environmentalism and "green energy" through.  Well worth the read.

written by Michael Shellenberger   

...

After college, I moved to California to work on environmental campaigns. I helped save the state’s last ancient redwood forest and blocked a proposed radioactive waste repository set for the desert.

In 2002, shortly after I turned 30, I decided I wanted to dedicate myself to addressing climate change. I was worried that global warming would end up destroying many of the natural environments that people had worked so hard to protect.

I thought the solutions were pretty straightforward: solar panels on every roof, electric cars in every driveway, etc. The main obstacles, I believed, were political. And so I helped organize a coalition of America’s largest labor unions and environmental groups. Our proposal was for a $300 billion dollar investment in renewables. We would not only prevent climate change but also create millions of new jobs in a fast-growing high-tech sector.

Our efforts paid off in 2007 when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama embraced our vision. Between 2009–15, the U.S. invested $150 billion dollars in renewables and other forms of clean tech. But right away we ran into trouble.

....


Michael Shellenberger is a Time Magazine “Hero of the Environment,” and president of Environmental Progress, an independent research and policy organization. Follow him on Twitter @ShellenbergerMD

https://quillette.com/2019/02/27/why-renewables-cant-save-the-planet/[/quote]

[truth_seeker]

1967 "The Graduate"

Mrs. Robinson's husband says to Dustin Hoffman,

"Plastics,"


2020 Intelligent people

 "Nuclear" Clean, safe.

California SHOULD have been building new reservoirs, instead of trains to nowhere. Those reservoirs could have served multiple purposes; managing scarce water resources, generating electricity, storing energy, recreation places, etc.
 

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Outstanding article on the subject, from an apparently reputable environmentalist.

Guess they are not 100% wackos after all as some can reason out what is happening instead of making it a true religion.

[truth_seeker]

DOE Sec. Perry cleared the way for some type of "Iterative" nuclear testing.

Bill Gates, gobs of money, ranks safe next gen nuclear power at  or near the highest priority. He calls it Nuke 4.0

I think there isarational center-left, which recognizes that clean-safe nuclear may be a viable fuel of the future.