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Or we could keep our standard of living and just build more renewables…

beAbU 3y ago
"just"
dageshi 3y ago
We've been building renewables for a while now, has it actually made any significant decrease in fossil fuel consumption? "Despite further strong growth in wind and solar in the power sector, overall global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions increased again," said the president of the UK-based global industry body Energy Institute, Juliet Davenport. https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/06/26/wrong-direction-fossil-fuels-still-dominate-despite-growth-in-renewables-report-reveals https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/06/26/wrong-direction-fo... That was some quick googling on my part, it seems not? You can produce more energy via renewables and people will simply expand demand to absorb it, in much the same way you can build more roads and car usage will expand to congest it. But certainly I'm not saying we should stop building more renewables, I just think people will happily use fossil fuels and renewables as much as possible because cheaper energy allows for better standard of living.
- Podgajski 3y ago
  Thank you, this is what I mean. They keep saying renewables are the answer, but we all know that more renewables we create the more energy we use. We’re not stopping energy consumption. So all of you who are saying this has been talked about, yeah it’s been talked about but that’s all it’s been done. What I’m saying it’s time to stop talking and time more doing.
- adrianN 3y ago
  Now imagine how much more carbon we would emit without the renewable terawatt hours. Btw in most countries where the renewables are being built carbon emissions do go down. They’re just being outpaced by China and India ramping up coal consumption.
  - NhanH 3y ago
    That’s the problem though. China is already building more renewables than any where on the world (probably more than the rest of the world combined). They still have to ramp up coal production to meet demand despite all those growth. The question isn’t about whether to build more renewable, but how.
    - adrianN 3y ago
      Well, were I live the hurdles are all purely regulatory.
- hulitu 3y ago
  > Despite further strong growth in wind... Where exactly ? On the moon ? Because around here, (from central to eastern europe) i haven't seen any "strong growth in wind".
  - PeterisP 3y ago
    There have been a lot of wind generators built in central to eastern europe over the last decade or so.
tastyfreeze 3y ago
The single greatest reduction in carbon emissions in the US has been switching from coal to natural gas power plants.
- Podgajski 3y ago
  Wrong! Methane (the primary component of natural gas) has a global warming potential 21 times higher than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period, though methane persists in the atmosphere for much less time (around a dozen years) than carbon dioxide (many decades).
  - adriancr 3y ago
    Goal of the power plant is to burn the methane, not release it... so i would say you are wrong here.
    - adrianN 3y ago
      Unfortunately we lose quite a bit of methane between the extraction site and the turbine.
      - hulitu 3y ago
        I can't wait for a SV startup to make better pipes. /s
- hulitu 3y ago
  You must start somewhere. /s
malka 3y ago
Works wonder in Germany. Coal is so cool.

"just"

We've been building renewables for a while now, has it actually made any significant decrease in fossil fuel consumption? "Despite further strong growth in wind and solar in the power sector, overall global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions increased again," said the president of the UK-based global industry body Energy Institute, Juliet Davenport. https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/06/26/wrong-direction-fossil-fuels-still-dominate-despite-growth-in-renewables-report-reveals https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/06/26/wrong-direction-fo... That was some quick googling on my part, it seems not? You can produce more energy via renewables and people will simply expand demand to absorb it, in much the same way you can build more roads and car usage will expand to congest it. But certainly I'm not saying we should stop building more renewables, I just think people will happily use fossil fuels and renewables as much as possible because cheaper energy allows for better standard of living.

Podgajski 3y ago
Thank you, this is what I mean. They keep saying renewables are the answer, but we all know that more renewables we create the more energy we use. We’re not stopping energy consumption. So all of you who are saying this has been talked about, yeah it’s been talked about but that’s all it’s been done. What I’m saying it’s time to stop talking and time more doing.
adrianN 3y ago
Now imagine how much more carbon we would emit without the renewable terawatt hours. Btw in most countries where the renewables are being built carbon emissions do go down. They’re just being outpaced by China and India ramping up coal consumption.
- NhanH 3y ago
  That’s the problem though. China is already building more renewables than any where on the world (probably more than the rest of the world combined). They still have to ramp up coal production to meet demand despite all those growth. The question isn’t about whether to build more renewable, but how.
  - adrianN 3y ago
    Well, were I live the hurdles are all purely regulatory.
hulitu 3y ago
> Despite further strong growth in wind... Where exactly ? On the moon ? Because around here, (from central to eastern europe) i haven't seen any "strong growth in wind".
- PeterisP 3y ago
  There have been a lot of wind generators built in central to eastern europe over the last decade or so.

tastyfreeze 3y ago

The single greatest reduction in carbon emissions in the US has been switching from coal to natural gas power plants.

Podgajski 3y ago
Wrong! Methane (the primary component of natural gas) has a global warming potential 21 times higher than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period, though methane persists in the atmosphere for much less time (around a dozen years) than carbon dioxide (many decades).
- adriancr 3y ago
  Goal of the power plant is to burn the methane, not release it... so i would say you are wrong here.
  - adrianN 3y ago
    Unfortunately we lose quite a bit of methane between the extraction site and the turbine.
    - hulitu 3y ago
      I can't wait for a SV startup to make better pipes. /s
hulitu 3y ago
You must start somewhere. /s

malka 3y ago

Works wonder in Germany. Coal is so cool.