Climate Change? Nahhh ...

Just wait until the Colorado River dries up in Arizona ... it's not going to be pretty. Putting metropolises in the middle of the desert in places like Phoenix and Vegas seemed like a great idea at the time.

 

The changes needed to hit Biden’s goal are staggering.

Biden Wants to Slash Emissions. Success Would Mean a Very Different America.

 

“I don’t know. The moon looks awfully high up there. Let’s quit.”

The people who have for 100 years claimed we’re the best at everything have turned into fucking quitters real fast when it comes to stopping a pandemic and tackling climate change.

Five years ago many on this very board said widespread adoption of electric vehicles was impossible. Now it’s an inevitability.

 

Damn near all the carmakers have already committed to going over to 100% electric car manufacture. Sure, it would take a crash effort, but we've done that before.

Problem is that the country is so damn politically and ideologically fractured.

 

Reading our thoughts on electric cars just 5-10 years ago on this board now is a really funny experience.

 

Just yesterday I had a handful of seniors asking me about going electric, if I would, etc.
I said the minute it becomes viable for the traveling I do, I'm all in.
Of course I got the typical redneck answer: "Ain't drivim' no 'lectrik truck."
I told them that I probably won't see it in my lifetime, but in theirs, they probably won't have an option. If they do, gas/diesel will be so expensive because of lack of demand, they won't be able to afford it.

 

I’m pretty sure lack of demand would lower prices, no?

 

As an example:

“By 2030, half the country’s electricity would need to come from renewable sources such as wind, solar or hydropower, up from one-fifth today.”

The irony: That’ll take land. A lot of it. And not magic land that doesn’t take up real land that can’t be used for anything else other than a staging ground for turbines and panels.

Wind and solar are complimentary energy sources. A side dish. America can’t run on it with any great efficiency.

The best way to cut emissions is through a drastic reduction in consumption. We know this because of the story, which says the US has cut emissions by 21% since 2005...with 7% of that coming in one year. 2020.

The most aggressive plan in world history will ask little to nothing of consumption unless it’s “stop eating meat.”

 

There are many examples of wind and solar energy generation on land that also is used for other purposes. Wind farm land is used for grazing and other agricultural purposes. Solar panels generate from roofs of commercial buildings and houses. And, as technology becomes more efficient, the footprint will likely decrease.

 

I saw a picture the other day, and for the life of me I can't remember the country. The median of a divided highway was covered with solar cells to the limit of the photo. How much land like that is there? How many mountains have had their tops blown up and then strip mined? Noting grows worth a damn there afterwards. Put up windmills. Lots of apartments have covered parking similar to carports. Put solar on top of those. There is no shortage of places.

3.797 million square miles in the United States and we don't have room for energy generation tech? Really?

On the other hand, Alabama Power pays so little for excess power from home solar returned to the grid that it is not possible to install solar and pay for it over time, let alone come out a little ahead when it is sunny. The Alabama Public Utility Commission is a wholly owned subsidiary of Drummond Coal and Alabama Power, so they won't lift a finger to change it.

 

Up to a point, but then the cost of production of something that nobody wants to buy would make it cost prohibitive.

 

Just line the median of I-40 from Wilmington to Bakersfield.