Plus: Can Fracking Help the Energy Transition?; Is the Internet Drying Out Chile?; and more about the real costs of renewable energy and digital tech, and how we can do better.
You seem to have a firm grasp of the environmental costs of scaling up renewables, but then appear to lose sight of that when you say things like "We can do better." We actually can't. It may be that you are still convinced that we are facing a problem that has a solution, rather than a predicament which only has an outcome. As a starting point, I would suggest reading the heavily referenced work of Eric Michaels that can be found here https://problemspredicamentsandtechnology.blogspot.com/
It will possibly dissuade you of any ideas about fixing things. Or not...
Thanks for your thoughts, Michael. I took a look at Eric Michaels' blog, and I take it that his (and your?) basic view is that we're doomed. That modern civilization is inherently unsustainable and will eventually collapse due to its overuse of the planet's resources. Well, you might be right! But personally I don't believe things are hopeless. There are many, many things we can do to blunt the impacts of climate change and shift to something closer to a version of modernity that can actually endure for a lnog time. You'll notice I don't say "We can fix everything"—the tag line is "We can do better." Not perfect, but better. Anyway, it's worth a shot, no? What other choice is there?
Definitely power generation should be socialized as we do here in BC and is done in many many countries. These are inherently monopolistic companies and cheap/free energy will only benefit every single person/industry.
As you say this really points to the unsuitability of private companies in certain fields of endeavor.
Hi Vince,
You seem to have a firm grasp of the environmental costs of scaling up renewables, but then appear to lose sight of that when you say things like "We can do better." We actually can't. It may be that you are still convinced that we are facing a problem that has a solution, rather than a predicament which only has an outcome. As a starting point, I would suggest reading the heavily referenced work of Eric Michaels that can be found here https://problemspredicamentsandtechnology.blogspot.com/
It will possibly dissuade you of any ideas about fixing things. Or not...
Thanks for your thoughts, Michael. I took a look at Eric Michaels' blog, and I take it that his (and your?) basic view is that we're doomed. That modern civilization is inherently unsustainable and will eventually collapse due to its overuse of the planet's resources. Well, you might be right! But personally I don't believe things are hopeless. There are many, many things we can do to blunt the impacts of climate change and shift to something closer to a version of modernity that can actually endure for a lnog time. You'll notice I don't say "We can fix everything"—the tag line is "We can do better." Not perfect, but better. Anyway, it's worth a shot, no? What other choice is there?
Definitely power generation should be socialized as we do here in BC and is done in many many countries. These are inherently monopolistic companies and cheap/free energy will only benefit every single person/industry.
As you say this really points to the unsuitability of private companies in certain fields of endeavor.
Amen!