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> The argument is that once you stop doing that, it’s over. My issue is that this statement is wrong, though. All the greenhouse gas from coal that was burned

by pyrale 2y ago

> The argument is that once you stop doing that, it’s over. My issue is that this statement is wrong, though. All the greenhouse gas from coal that was burned in the past, and all the coal we're still burning, will still be around and is still going to slowly bake the planet we live on for the next millenia [1]. Effectively, coal emissions are only considered this way because, after we stop producing, we stop seeing the smokestacks and we forget that the byproducts are still there. This is also true for most other pollution sources: industrial sites with heavy metal pollution don't magically clean themselves when the factory closes. WW1 battle areas are still deeply polluted and some are still unfit for agriculture. "Eternal" chemicals are never going back to the oil well. And, for us technologists, ewaste does not magically disappear [2]. It's really maddening that some people develop an acute perception that radioactive waste is "forever", but somehow fail to understand that the same is true for a very large part of the waste we create now, for which nature hasn't (over millions of years) evolved organisms able to eat them. [1]: https://royalsociety.org/news-resources/projects/climate-change-evidence-causes/question-20/ https://royalsociety.org/news-resources/projects/climate-cha... [2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41765334 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41765334

locallost 2y ago
This also unfortunately makes a case against nuclear. For instance the worst coal burning country in Europe is Poland, which 5 years ago decided to build nuclear plants. They are set to break ground in a couple years and the first plant will be finished 2033 or so. The last ones 2040. And this all if it goes according to plan, which it won't. And even then they will be left with a significant amount of coal burning plants in the system. So at least 15 years of effort to get one plant online during which time the country will continue to pump CO2 to the tune of 70% coal in their electricity mix. CO2 that will, as you say, continue to bake the earth. Nuclear is a terrible choice for decarbonization.

by pyrale 2y ago

locallost 2y ago

This also unfortunately makes a case against nuclear. For instance the worst coal burning country in Europe is Poland, which 5 years ago decided to build nuclear plants. They are set to break ground in a couple years and the first plant will be finished 2033 or so. The last ones 2040. And this all if it goes according to plan, which it won't. And even then they will be left with a significant amount of coal burning plants in the system. So at least 15 years of effort to get one plant online during which time the country will continue to pump CO2 to the tune of 70% coal in their electricity mix. CO2 that will, as you say, continue to bake the earth. Nuclear is a terrible choice for decarbonization.