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Costa Rica’s per capita electricity use (about 400W right now) is less than half of New York state’s (about 1kW). Solutions to fossil fuel use are going to hav

Costa Rica’s per capita electricity use (about 400W right now) is less than half of New York state’s (about 1kW). Solutions to fossil fuel use are going to have to involve drastic cuts in our electricity consumption.

joncrane 5y ago
In CR, electricity is comparatively very expensive. In the US we think nothing of leaving lights on when we go out or go to bed. In CR it's considered extremely taboo to leave lights or fans on unnecessarily.
aembleton 5y ago
> Solutions to fossil fuel use are going to have to involve drastic cuts in our electricity consumption. Why? Why can't we produce enough from wind and solar and store it in batteries? Maybe use electric cars as batteries for helping to balance the grid.
- cwkoss 5y ago
  Lithium scarcity is one issue. Much of the cheap lithium has already been mined. We'll likely need to utilize different chemistries that are less suited for cars for grid scale solutions.
- realreality 5y ago
  We currently use a huge amount of energy, only a tiny fraction of which comes from wind and solar [1]. Transitioning all energy to renewable is not just a matter of swapping out one source for another. [2] [1] https://twitter.com/drvolts/status/1405387412168052738/photo/1 https://twitter.com/drvolts/status/1405387412168052738/photo... [2]https://jancovici.com/en/energy-transition/renewables/could-we-live-as-today-with-just-renewable-energy/ https://jancovici.com/en/energy-transition/renewables/could-...
asteroidbelt 5y ago
No the solution is to impose carbon tax, and: * Let consumer decide what is more important for them, saved money or not worrying about light switches * Give capitalists incentive to produce greener electricity Yes, technically, forcing people to reduce their quality of life is a solution, but it's better to solve the problem without it.
- realreality 5y ago
  No. Capitalism is not capable of addressing the climate and ecological crisis.
  - asteroidbelt 5y ago
    I explained how it will work. Care you explain where I'm wrong or present any arguments to substantiate your point of view? Otherwise you comment is equivalent to just "I disagree", which contributes zero to the discussion.
    - realreality 5y ago
      A carbon tax might've worked if implemented a couple of decades ago, when it could be gradually increased over time, and giving industries time to adapt. It is meant to be a gentle way for the government to change behavior. But the scale of emissions reductions required now -- at least 10% per year [1] -- would mean that the price of carbon would have to immediately be cripplingly high. Obviously, that's bad for anyone who isn't rich. And there's no appetite for high taxes. The point being, if the government is going to intervene to the degree that the climate crisis requires, then the government might as well directly shut down industries and institute regulations on behavior, instead of indirectly through carbon taxes. As we've been reminded of recently, the wealthy always find loopholes around paying their fair share of taxes. [1] https://www.showyourbudgets.org/?country=united_states_of_america https://www.showyourbudgets.org/?country=united_states_of_am... And even this budget is likely conservative, as committed warming is a topic of debate.
  - stjohnswarts 5y ago

joncrane 5y ago

In CR, electricity is comparatively very expensive. In the US we think nothing of leaving lights on when we go out or go to bed. In CR it's considered extremely taboo to leave lights or fans on unnecessarily.

aembleton 5y ago

> Solutions to fossil fuel use are going to have to involve drastic cuts in our electricity consumption. Why? Why can't we produce enough from wind and solar and store it in batteries? Maybe use electric cars as batteries for helping to balance the grid.

cwkoss 5y ago
Lithium scarcity is one issue. Much of the cheap lithium has already been mined. We'll likely need to utilize different chemistries that are less suited for cars for grid scale solutions.
realreality 5y ago
We currently use a huge amount of energy, only a tiny fraction of which comes from wind and solar [1]. Transitioning all energy to renewable is not just a matter of swapping out one source for another. [2] [1] https://twitter.com/drvolts/status/1405387412168052738/photo/1 https://twitter.com/drvolts/status/1405387412168052738/photo... [2]https://jancovici.com/en/energy-transition/renewables/could-we-live-as-today-with-just-renewable-energy/ https://jancovici.com/en/energy-transition/renewables/could-...

asteroidbelt 5y ago

No the solution is to impose carbon tax, and: * Let consumer decide what is more important for them, saved money or not worrying about light switches * Give capitalists incentive to produce greener electricity Yes, technically, forcing people to reduce their quality of life is a solution, but it's better to solve the problem without it.

realreality 5y ago
No. Capitalism is not capable of addressing the climate and ecological crisis.
- asteroidbelt 5y ago
  I explained how it will work. Care you explain where I'm wrong or present any arguments to substantiate your point of view? Otherwise you comment is equivalent to just "I disagree", which contributes zero to the discussion.
  - realreality 5y ago
    A carbon tax might've worked if implemented a couple of decades ago, when it could be gradually increased over time, and giving industries time to adapt. It is meant to be a gentle way for the government to change behavior. But the scale of emissions reductions required now -- at least 10% per year [1] -- would mean that the price of carbon would have to immediately be cripplingly high. Obviously, that's bad for anyone who isn't rich. And there's no appetite for high taxes. The point being, if the government is going to intervene to the degree that the climate crisis requires, then the government might as well directly shut down industries and institute regulations on behavior, instead of indirectly through carbon taxes. As we've been reminded of recently, the wealthy always find loopholes around paying their fair share of taxes. [1] https://www.showyourbudgets.org/?country=united_states_of_america https://www.showyourbudgets.org/?country=united_states_of_am... And even this budget is likely conservative, as committed warming is a topic of debate.
- stjohnswarts 5y ago