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For what it's worth; Included among Smil's admirers is Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who has read all of Smil's 36 books. "I wait for new Smil books the way
by labrador 4y ago
For what it's worth;
Included among Smil's admirers is Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who has read all of Smil's 36 books. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next Star Wars movie," Gates wrote in 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaclav_Smil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaclav_Smil
- ZeroGravitas 4y agoYes, Smil appears to be the main reason Bill Gates has been actively unhelpful on climate matters. Constantly talking about how renewables aren't enough and that we need to invent new tech to save us, rather than just roll out the amazing tech we already have as fast as possible. https://www.theregister.com/AMP/2022/10/26/gates_green_investment_refocus/ https://www.theregister.com/AMP/2022/10/26/gates_green_inves... Smil was also an EV skeptic.
- jandrese 4y agoSome of the "renewables aren't affordable" people are just out of date. They ran the numbers back in the early 2000s and came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be economical to switch to wind and solar. But prices, especially on solar, have been in collapse for the past 20 years. Previously unaffordable battery based grid storage quietly became a thing. EVs also dropped down to mainsteam prices. The solution to climate change is economies of scale.