5 ms·

I would say that's a pretty good thing to be 'throwing' money at, to paraphrase the author of the article

SkipperCat 3y ago
I have no great love for billionaires, but if they're gonna do stuff, it may as well be this.
WillPostForFood 3y ago
Replacing coal with cleaner energy is great. Shutting down coal, blocking natural gas, and ending up with energy shortages and blackouts is terrible.
- runako 3y ago
  > Shutting down coal, blocking natural gas, and ending up with energy shortages and blackouts is terrible. Is anyone suggesting this as a policy direction?
  - ars 3y ago
    Yes! Tons of people. "Don't allow new drilling, no new natural gas plants, shut down the trans mountain pipeline." These are all popular policies. The only good policy is build new energy sources cheaper than oil/gas/coal and let the world switch naturally and without drama.
    - travisporter 3y ago
      What timeline?
      - ars 3y ago
        There are 2 main things blocking this: Zoning issues. A lot of states have restrictive zoning that makes energy installation hard[0]. And money. (Although he Inflation Reduction Act will help[1], at least for windmills.) Since the 2nd problem is money, Bloomberg could have helped here - all he needed to do was invest all this money into buying and installing windmills. But he didn't. [0]: https://www.pnnl.gov/sites/default/files/media/file/Restrictions%20in%20Local%20Zoning%20-%20Memo%20-%20Jul22.pdf https://www.pnnl.gov/sites/default/files/media/file/Restrict... [1]: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy-manufacturing/us-wind-manufacturing-makes-a-comeback-thanks-to-inflation-reduction-act https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy-manufactur...
    - hgomersall 3y ago
      ...and hope we don't cross too many climate tipping points on the way.
      - ars 3y ago
        Warnings are worthless, activism is worthless, political posturing is worthless. The only thing that actually matters is private investment (and government can help make that attractive). Provide tax credits or loan guarantees for new energy investments (the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act is a good step). My advice for Mr. Bloomberg? Take this money and start a public investment company, anyone can join him and invest, and he takes every bit of the money and starts installing windmills and solar. Use the proceeds to install even more. If he put out some long term contracts for windmills parts he could dramatically boost manufacturing[1]. [1]: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy-manufacturing/us-wind-manufacturing-makes-a-comeback-thanks-to-inflation-reduction-act https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy-manufactur...
  - WillPostForFood 3y ago
    The article says the policy is: Shutting down coal, blocking natural gas. And we are seeing results, increasing blackouts.

I have no great love for billionaires, but if they're gonna do stuff, it may as well be this.

Replacing coal with cleaner energy is great. Shutting down coal, blocking natural gas, and ending up with energy shortages and blackouts is terrible.

runako 3y ago
> Shutting down coal, blocking natural gas, and ending up with energy shortages and blackouts is terrible. Is anyone suggesting this as a policy direction?
- ars 3y ago
  Yes! Tons of people. "Don't allow new drilling, no new natural gas plants, shut down the trans mountain pipeline." These are all popular policies. The only good policy is build new energy sources cheaper than oil/gas/coal and let the world switch naturally and without drama.
  - travisporter 3y ago
    What timeline?
    - ars 3y ago
      There are 2 main things blocking this: Zoning issues. A lot of states have restrictive zoning that makes energy installation hard[0]. And money. (Although he Inflation Reduction Act will help[1], at least for windmills.) Since the 2nd problem is money, Bloomberg could have helped here - all he needed to do was invest all this money into buying and installing windmills. But he didn't. [0]: https://www.pnnl.gov/sites/default/files/media/file/Restrictions%20in%20Local%20Zoning%20-%20Memo%20-%20Jul22.pdf https://www.pnnl.gov/sites/default/files/media/file/Restrict... [1]: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy-manufacturing/us-wind-manufacturing-makes-a-comeback-thanks-to-inflation-reduction-act https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy-manufactur...
  - hgomersall 3y ago
    ...and hope we don't cross too many climate tipping points on the way.
    - ars 3y ago
      Warnings are worthless, activism is worthless, political posturing is worthless. The only thing that actually matters is private investment (and government can help make that attractive). Provide tax credits or loan guarantees for new energy investments (the bipartisan Inflation Reduction Act is a good step). My advice for Mr. Bloomberg? Take this money and start a public investment company, anyone can join him and invest, and he takes every bit of the money and starts installing windmills and solar. Use the proceeds to install even more. If he put out some long term contracts for windmills parts he could dramatically boost manufacturing[1]. [1]: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy-manufacturing/us-wind-manufacturing-makes-a-comeback-thanks-to-inflation-reduction-act https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy-manufactur...
- WillPostForFood 3y ago
  The article says the policy is: Shutting down coal, blocking natural gas. And we are seeing results, increasing blackouts.