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Some people seem dead-set on expecting failure, but I've always been optimistic that market forces will shift towards renewables and mass storage as their costs
by abstractbarista 5y ago
Some people seem dead-set on expecting failure, but I've always been optimistic that market forces will shift towards renewables and mass storage as their costs and efficacy improve.
It feels amazing to be proven right. When you continually refine a class of technologies like these, 'the market' latches on and fervently optimizes. We are all part of this movement. It will only accelerate from here; my first car was a hybrid, and my next will be battery electric. There are many like me in my generation.
Of course, governments across the nation have taken many great steps to incentivize as well. But why does it feel like everyone has abandoned these fundamental concepts? I suppose it is preferred to narrate market changes with political tones these days.
- jfengel 5y agoThis isn't just market forces. There has been a heavy government hand in creating tax incentives. The government is using the market, but the market would likely not have produced it on its own. And in fact much of this good news isn't about renewables. It's about a shift from coal to natural gas -- again, with government nudges (e.g. https://www.texastribune.org/2018/12/12/us-helping-private-natural-gas-companies-make-profit/ https://www.texastribune.org/2018/12/12/us-helping-private-n...). That does reduce carbon dioxide, but it's not a path towards zero carbon. If anything it's the opposite, creating a large new industry for fossil fuel extraction.