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> For all the breathless commentary on solar the author spares no ink on China's appetite for coal. They have a lot of coal so they burn coal. The US has a lot

> For all the breathless commentary on solar the author spares no ink on China's appetite for coal. They have a lot of coal so they burn coal. The US has a lot of natural gas so it burns natural gas (and bafflingly, continues to insist on burning coal, even when it's uneconomical). So they're about even. There is one difference. 80% of new electricity generation in China in the past 3 or 4 years has come from solar or other renewable sources. So while they may burn coal now, they won't always burn coal. America has sadly chosen a different path.

chrisco255 1y ago
The U.S. has tons of both coal and Natural Gas but it shifted its energy production to Natural Gas in part due to carbon emissions. Coal was cheaper than natural gas, but fracking made natural gas cheaper. Either way, natural gas burns 50-60% cleaner than coal. China still onboarded more than 173GW of coal in the last 5 years. That is 60% additional electricity from coal than Japan spends in a whole year. That is 3x what Germany spends in a year. They continue to pollute more than ever.
- triceratops 1y ago
  > in part due to carbon emissions... fracking made natural gas cheaper [than coal] Well which one is it? From what I can remember natural gas electric generation took off along with the fracking boom, which is when it became cheaper. If it was really for emissions natural gas should've taken over generation before it became cheap, right? I contend it was purely for economic reasons, and the relative emissions benefits were a nice bonus. > China still onboarded more than 173GW of coal in the last 5 years Citation needed. And again, they don't have natural gas. They have coal. What they don't have is an energy policy that beats down solar power and renewable energy due to ideology and "coal interests". What more do you expect? > That is 3x what Germany spends in a year They have like 12x the population of Germany. It's a meaningless comparison. And they even had a 1 child policy for such a long time. Unlike you with the natural gas I won't claim they did it for the emissions. But just like natural gas it was a bit lucky for the environment, right? Pretend China is 10 separate countries and put this vapid fossil fuel industry talking point out of your mind. The humans are there and they produce carbon emissions. Why do lines on a map matter?

chrisco255 1y ago

The U.S. has tons of both coal and Natural Gas but it shifted its energy production to Natural Gas in part due to carbon emissions. Coal was cheaper than natural gas, but fracking made natural gas cheaper. Either way, natural gas burns 50-60% cleaner than coal. China still onboarded more than 173GW of coal in the last 5 years. That is 60% additional electricity from coal than Japan spends in a whole year. That is 3x what Germany spends in a year. They continue to pollute more than ever.

triceratops 1y ago
> in part due to carbon emissions... fracking made natural gas cheaper [than coal] Well which one is it? From what I can remember natural gas electric generation took off along with the fracking boom, which is when it became cheaper. If it was really for emissions natural gas should've taken over generation before it became cheap, right? I contend it was purely for economic reasons, and the relative emissions benefits were a nice bonus. > China still onboarded more than 173GW of coal in the last 5 years Citation needed. And again, they don't have natural gas. They have coal. What they don't have is an energy policy that beats down solar power and renewable energy due to ideology and "coal interests". What more do you expect? > That is 3x what Germany spends in a year They have like 12x the population of Germany. It's a meaningless comparison. And they even had a 1 child policy for such a long time. Unlike you with the natural gas I won't claim they did it for the emissions. But just like natural gas it was a bit lucky for the environment, right? Pretend China is 10 separate countries and put this vapid fossil fuel industry talking point out of your mind. The humans are there and they produce carbon emissions. Why do lines on a map matter?