Opinion: How can government, business and consumers ease the transition into a greener economy? [Opinion]
The question “What can be done to balance concerns about affordability, equity and practicality?” implies it may not be “practical” to address these issues. But it will be entirely impractical not to.
The recently passed inflation reduction/health care/climate change legislation is a broad array of diverse items. Many are initiatives that mollify the individual legislative contributors; they may sound good, but many are unlikely to be effective. The impact of recent increases in carbon dioxide emissions due to vast population growth is huge. Even in the U.S., energy needs to support population growth will likely offset most efforts to become more energy efficient.
Question: Can’t we just provide more solar and wind installations? Answer: There are substantial practical limits to expanding wind and solar. This would require producing a vast network of energy storage facilities, but we lack the necessary technologies. A word also about zero population growth and family planning. If we cannot begin to voluntarily limit global population growth, Thomas Malthus’ prediction that population will be limited by famine, war, plague and pestilence will come true. Eight billion people may be too much for the Earth to support.
Nuclear energy definitely deserves to be back in the mix. A lot has been learned in the years since nuclear plants that produce electricity came on line. We already have at least six nuclear generators in San Diego. Surprised? They are in Navy ships and subs. They work just fine, and we seldom hear of issues with them. Getting rid of used nuclear material is a problem, but consider that the massive infrastructure for oil energy is staggering — from oil fields and pipelines all over the U.S.
Fossil fuels have been an enormous positive on advancing the human race. It has only been about 200 years since oil replaced wind and whale oil. But, with the growth of population and our future power needs, now is the time we need to plan 100 or 200 years into the future. We must think further than the next election.The mistake is assuming that it would be easy to transition our society overnight to an alternate form of fuel.
The first step towards a solution is to develop microgrids based on readily available natural gas infrastructure. This will allow local communities the time and control needed to plan for growth while at the same time leveling the regional demand for energy. Microgrids can work with the large existing power grids that are susceptible to brownouts yet unplug when necessary, becoming an independent energy island.
For instance, we live in an area where there is an abundance of sunshine. Solar works well, and after the initial investment can cost practically nothing. With solar panels and a backup generator, energy would be guaranteed even on cloudy days. In areas that receive lots of wind, wind turbines can assist the solar in generating power.
Californians have paid as much of the price of saving the planet as anybody. From being the first to require catalytic converters to shutting down the most electricity-producing plants to phasing out diesel, leaded gasoline and coal, our state leads the United States and the world in reducing carbon emissions.
Like children deprived of recess time, Americans ran out the school doors forgetting everything they had learned. Now we are back in our offices, communicating on our electronic devices just as we did at home during the lockdown, yet complaining about the cost of gasoline and blaming the president who let us out of the classroom.
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