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You're giving power to those thoughts, you need to stop. Focus on the stuff you can do, at the local level. Join a maker space, reading group, poetry slam, phot

You're giving power to those thoughts, you need to stop. Focus on the stuff you can do, at the local level. Join a maker space, reading group, poetry slam, photography forum, whatever. Local action, local attention. Focus on the things you can help make better. PS: I'm 58... it's always been like this, yet we find ways. Look at how fast electrification of transport is moving now. Renewables are growing at a rate that I wouldn't have thought possible in my youth. Soon, the focus will shift from weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, and into, "What can we do with all this cheap energy to make life better?".

raptorraver 5y ago
This is the correct answer. Focus on helping people around you. Also stop reading the news if they cause anxiety.
realreality 5y ago
> Soon, the focus will shift from weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, and into, "What can we do with all this cheap energy to make life better?". That's not going to happen. People basically don't understand where energy comes from, or what's entailed with an "energy transition". See this lecture for a good overview: https://jancovici.com/en/video/can-we-save-energy-jobs-and-growth-at-the-same-time/ https://jancovici.com/en/video/can-we-save-energy-jobs-and-g...
- s1artibartfast 5y ago
  There will be a glut solar and wind power in the middle of the day and in the summers long before we transition from fossil fuels. What to do with all the cheap energy is already a challenge in some places to the extent they have to pay people to use it.
webmaven 5y ago
> Soon, the focus will shift from weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, and into, "What can we do with all this cheap energy to make life better?". If what you mean is "what do we do with off-peak power generation" then yes, there will be some of that, to the extent that we don't: a) fill the need for baseload generation with some form of nuclear power b) find ways to radically improve the efficiency of transmission and storage of excess power But I suspect that for the most part, what will happen is some nuclear, some overbuilding of renewable capacity, soaking up some of the excess with storage (battery, gravity, heat) and transmission inefficiencies, giving local/regional off-peak rate discounts, and simply wasting whatever is left over. Off-peak power discounts might end up prompting additional industrial and compute utilization, but that's dependent on additional infrastructure investment (that by definition will be largely idle during peak power use) so the discount has to be pretty steep to make it worthwhile.

raptorraver 5y ago

This is the correct answer. Focus on helping people around you. Also stop reading the news if they cause anxiety.

realreality 5y ago

> Soon, the focus will shift from weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, and into, "What can we do with all this cheap energy to make life better?". That's not going to happen. People basically don't understand where energy comes from, or what's entailed with an "energy transition". See this lecture for a good overview: https://jancovici.com/en/video/can-we-save-energy-jobs-and-growth-at-the-same-time/ https://jancovici.com/en/video/can-we-save-energy-jobs-and-g...

s1artibartfast 5y ago
There will be a glut solar and wind power in the middle of the day and in the summers long before we transition from fossil fuels. What to do with all the cheap energy is already a challenge in some places to the extent they have to pay people to use it.

webmaven 5y ago

> Soon, the focus will shift from weaning ourselves off fossil fuels, and into, "What can we do with all this cheap energy to make life better?". If what you mean is "what do we do with off-peak power generation" then yes, there will be some of that, to the extent that we don't: a) fill the need for baseload generation with some form of nuclear power b) find ways to radically improve the efficiency of transmission and storage of excess power But I suspect that for the most part, what will happen is some nuclear, some overbuilding of renewable capacity, soaking up some of the excess with storage (battery, gravity, heat) and transmission inefficiencies, giving local/regional off-peak rate discounts, and simply wasting whatever is left over. Off-peak power discounts might end up prompting additional industrial and compute utilization, but that's dependent on additional infrastructure investment (that by definition will be largely idle during peak power use) so the discount has to be pretty steep to make it worthwhile.