5 ms·

So what do you think we should be doing? Staying on fossil fuels indefinitely, or moving to renewables more slowly or what.

9HZZRfNlpR 7y ago
That's a fair question but is the western world commiting energetic suicide first the solution? The biggest problem for the green revolution type of people to understand is that electricity just doesn't come from the wall, just like the rest of they energy needs. People can't imagine to live in a world where it's not reliable.
pasttense01 7y ago
You can have natural gas backup generating capacity equal to most demand--but which is used only a few days a year. This 95% Green solution is going to be a lot cheaper and more reliable than a 100% Green solution.
- strainer 7y ago
  There is no good reason to expect the ¨last 5%¨ of demand will be more economically met by the next generation of nuclear plants - than by the generation of renewable tech which will be developed by the time it is already supplying the other 95% ;)
- speedplane 7y ago
  > This 95% Green solution is going to be a lot cheaper and more reliable than a 100% Green solution. Right now our energy is roughly 5-10% green. Arguing whether green energy should eventually be 95% or 100% is purely pedantic at this point. There is approximately 95% of common ground between green energy purists and pragmatists. Lets get in line.
  - scarejunba 7y ago
    California's over 40% on solar+hydro+wind+geothermal.
    - toomuchtodo 7y ago
      Who downvotes facts? https://ww2.energy.ca.gov/almanac/electricity_data/total_system_power.html https://ww2.energy.ca.gov/almanac/electricity_data/total_sys... Large Hydro 10.68% Renewables (including geothermal, solar, and wind) 31.36% Nuclear 9%
      - jeffrallen 7y ago
        "I refuse your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage, a man ahead of his time.
- manfredo 7y ago
  Sure, but the problem is most demand occurs when intermittent sources do not produce energy. This plan really aims for about 40% green energy not 95% green energy. Hence why Germany's emissions have remained flat despite large increases in solar and wind generation.

9HZZRfNlpR 7y ago

That's a fair question but is the western world commiting energetic suicide first the solution? The biggest problem for the green revolution type of people to understand is that electricity just doesn't come from the wall, just like the rest of they energy needs. People can't imagine to live in a world where it's not reliable.

pasttense01 7y ago

You can have natural gas backup generating capacity equal to most demand--but which is used only a few days a year. This 95% Green solution is going to be a lot cheaper and more reliable than a 100% Green solution.

strainer 7y ago
There is no good reason to expect the ¨last 5%¨ of demand will be more economically met by the next generation of nuclear plants - than by the generation of renewable tech which will be developed by the time it is already supplying the other 95% ;)
speedplane 7y ago
> This 95% Green solution is going to be a lot cheaper and more reliable than a 100% Green solution. Right now our energy is roughly 5-10% green. Arguing whether green energy should eventually be 95% or 100% is purely pedantic at this point. There is approximately 95% of common ground between green energy purists and pragmatists. Lets get in line.
- scarejunba 7y ago
  California's over 40% on solar+hydro+wind+geothermal.
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    Who downvotes facts? https://ww2.energy.ca.gov/almanac/electricity_data/total_system_power.html https://ww2.energy.ca.gov/almanac/electricity_data/total_sys... Large Hydro 10.68% Renewables (including geothermal, solar, and wind) 31.36% Nuclear 9%
    - jeffrallen 7y ago
      "I refuse your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage, a man ahead of his time.
manfredo 7y ago
Sure, but the problem is most demand occurs when intermittent sources do not produce energy. This plan really aims for about 40% green energy not 95% green energy. Hence why Germany's emissions have remained flat despite large increases in solar and wind generation.