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If you'd like another depressing read, Derrick Jensen's "Bright Green Lies" is a good one. It does the very uncomfortable math on "Ok, so, you want to power ci

by Syonyk 5y ago

If you'd like another depressing read, Derrick Jensen's "Bright Green Lies" is a good one. It does the very uncomfortable math on "Ok, so, you want to power civilization with wind/solar/nuclear/etc? What does that look like in mountain tops removed, valleys filled with tailings, habitats blown to pieces, etc?" The answers aren't good. A number of the environmental groups have subtly shifted over the past decade or two from "How can we protect the environment?" to "How can we maintain industrial civilization levels of energy consumption and all our conveniences, but carbon neutral?" They are not the same question or issue, even though they're often confused.

onethought 5y ago
Aren’t solar panels made from sand/silicone? Wouldn’t a solar run world look like a place where our sand deserts are instead covered in panels. You don’t even need that many (in space) to power the whole planet. Not sure about lithium, but I suspect it’s not terrible as we don’t need that much.
bmitc 5y ago
I agree on your last point. It's very sad. An example I've come up with is fusion. The many scientists and engineers working on fusion, and the fans on the sidelines, are a bit too wide-eyed that it will "save" humanity. While it will obviously be much cleaner than existing energy production plants, I predict its cleanness will be outstripped by its enabling of even greater consumption. I very much hold little hope for civilization at the rate we're going. Like you say, we've gone from trying to be in a sustainable balance to just trying to keep up. Technology is just allowing us to destroy everything about the planet and even our own societies. And thank you for the reference. Although, I'm not sure I can take reading and watching more depressing material. It feels like learning how to scream into the wind.

by Syonyk 5y ago

onethought 5y ago

Aren’t solar panels made from sand/silicone? Wouldn’t a solar run world look like a place where our sand deserts are instead covered in panels. You don’t even need that many (in space) to power the whole planet. Not sure about lithium, but I suspect it’s not terrible as we don’t need that much.

bmitc 5y ago

I agree on your last point. It's very sad. An example I've come up with is fusion. The many scientists and engineers working on fusion, and the fans on the sidelines, are a bit too wide-eyed that it will "save" humanity. While it will obviously be much cleaner than existing energy production plants, I predict its cleanness will be outstripped by its enabling of even greater consumption. I very much hold little hope for civilization at the rate we're going. Like you say, we've gone from trying to be in a sustainable balance to just trying to keep up. Technology is just allowing us to destroy everything about the planet and even our own societies. And thank you for the reference. Although, I'm not sure I can take reading and watching more depressing material. It feels like learning how to scream into the wind.