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The alternatives aren't ready yet though, except maybe nuclear. And in the US, natural gas is still the only readily available means of heating and other buildi
by thayne 5y ago
The alternatives aren't ready yet though, except maybe nuclear. And in the US, natural gas is still the only readily available means of heating and other buildings. And even when alternatives appear, even with subsidies most people won't replace their existing systems until the old ones wear out, unless prices increase so dramatically that people can't afford to pay the gas bill. And if that happens, we could see more poor people freezing to death in the winter because they can't afford to heat their homes.
And then there is the wider impact on the economy, if this causes sustained high inflation that could further increase wealth inequality.
My hope is that this leads to harvesting more methane (natural gas) from cattle waste and similar sources.
- dashundchen 5y ago> The alternatives aren't ready yet though, except maybe nuclear. And in the US, natural gas is still the only readily available means of heating and other buildings. That's not really true anymore. While heat pumps have been popular in Europe and Asia for a while, they are taking off pretty quickly in the US and Canada in the past few years, even in colder climates. I'm in the Great Lakes and I heat an old drafty Victorian with a heat pump - I'm saving money and literal tons of carbon emissions over natural gas.
- thayne 5y agoHeat pumps don't work very well below 40 Fahrenheit. There are a lot of places where that makes them practically useless in the winter. It may be regional. Where I live at least, most hvac retailers only offer natural gas heaters.
- dashundchen 5y agoIn the region I live, it gets down to single digits and near zero for at least a week a year. Heat pumps still work, just reduced efficiency.