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If we'd done what Nixon suggested climate change would probably not be a problem, as not only would we emit less than half current carbon emissions but the rest
by api 4y ago
If we'd done what Nixon suggested climate change would probably not be a problem, as not only would we emit less than half current carbon emissions but the rest of the world would have followed and we'd have a huge nuclear power supply chain to make it easier for them to do that. We'd now be replacing gasoline and diesel with EVs and our carbon emissions would be falling rapidly.
While solar and wind have advanced quite a bit to the point that they're a viable option in many regions, whether or not nuclear is at least on the table is the litmus test for whether someone actually takes climate change seriously. Anyone who dogmatically rules out nuclear either doesn't actually believe in climate change or is hopelessly ignorant.
At the very least Germany and other countries should be leaving the perfectly good nuclear plants they already have online until the end of their operable life as they build out renewables and shut down coal and gas. The priority should always be shutting down fossil fuels first.
- Spooky23 4y agoEnergy and politics are intertwined. Nixon’s alcoholism and mental illness took him out of the picture, and really killed the more traditional “establishment” GOP; a new generation of “conservatives” was empowered and eventually took over the GOP. Who funded these newcomers? Oil, gas and friends was a big part of it. We converted to coal instead as a result.
- JacobThreeThree 4y agoOil and gas lobbyists insisted on using coal, instead of oil and gas? Was it the same lobbyists who convinced China to use coal? https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-starts-building-33-gw-coal-power-2021-most-since-2016-research-2022-02-24/ https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/china-starts-bui... Maybe coal is just a convenient energy source.
- api 4y agoWe didn't convert to coal. It was the primary source for industry and power. We stuck with it.
- Spooky23 4y agoOne of the outcomes of “Project Independence” was that oil fired plants were converted to coal. Heavy oil is mostly imported, that initiative was focused on using domestic sources of energy. Coal always has outsized influence due to the US Senate.
- spurgu 4y agoThis is good news on the nuclear front: https://earth.org/gas-and-nuclear-turn-green-eu-taxonomy/ https://earth.org/gas-and-nuclear-turn-green-eu-taxonomy/