The “Greens” promise renewables, solar and wind power, will replace fossil fuels. After all, the wind and sun are free, and they don’t pollute!
Oops.
Now countries that embraced renewables are so desperate for power that they eagerly import coal, the worst polluter of all!
Do they apologize? No. Greens never apologize.
Germany was a leader in renewable energy, so confident in solar and wind power that they closed half their nuclear plants.
Oops.
That leaves Germans so short of power that Germans are now desperate to buy fossil fuels from Russia. Even worse, pollution-wise, high pollution coal now tops wind as Germany’s biggest electricity source. That’s really disgusting.
Then, even after putting all that soot in the air, Germans pay more than triple what Americans pay for electricity.
For my new video, I confront German-born environmentalist Johanna Neumann of Environment America, a group that lobbies for 100% renewable energy.
I point out that despite massive subsidies, her beloved renewables still provide just 12% of our power. She responds, “Saying renewables are not yet powering our utility grid is like critiquing a 2-year-old for not being able to run a marathon.”
A 2-year-old? I don’t want to meet that kid. Renewables have been subsidized for 40 years, not two.
“How we spend our taxes ought to be a reflection of our values,” Neumann adds. “Americans … love renewable energy.”
Yes, I suppose we do. We like the idea of it. I put solar panels on my roof. I’d be a sucker not to. Massachusetts takes money from other state residents to give me a tax break on solar panels.
Still, in winter, when the sun is low, or my panels are covered by snow, I get nothing from my solar panels.
What kind of energy solution is that? People need energy when it’s cloudy, too. They also need it when the wind doesn’t blow.
“When the sun goes down … offshore winds get cranked up,” says Neumann.
No, they don’t!
“The wind doesn’t always come up when the sun goes down,” I point out.
“Renewables are clearly better,” Neumann replies.
She says we’ll solve renewable energy’s inconsistency by doing things like storing energy in batteries.
Well, yes, a battery that holds energy for weeks would make renewables work. But it doesn’t exist.
“This is just a total fantasy, which is why nobody has done it anywhere, ever!” says Alex Epstein, author of “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.”
Fossil fuels are moral, Epstein correctly points out, because human flourishing depends on them.
Abundant fossil fuels are especially important for poor people.
“Three billion people in the world still use less electricity than a typical American refrigerator. Are we going to allow them to have a modern life? Because that’s going to depend on fossil fuels.”
Even if climate change becomes a serious problem, fossil fuels reduce its harm by making us prosperous enough to afford protection against the climate.
“We have a 98% decline in climate-related disaster deaths over the last 100 years,” Epstein points out.
A 98% drop in deaths! This is the amazing untold story of fossil fuels and their benefits. Because oil and natural gas so efficiently provide power, heat homes when it’s freezing, pump water during droughts, etc., millions thrive, despite problems like climate change.
Thanks to fossil fuels, “We have this amazing productive ability,” says Epstein. “That’s the only reason we experience the planet as livable.”
Global warming is a threat. Limiting fossil fuels now, without a capable alternative, will make it even harder to deal with the effects.
Unless someone invents a miracle battery or something else that makes sun and wind power practical, we need fossil fuels, desperately.
Poor people need them most.
the concept of free clean energy is flawed as no energy is free our clean as even wind or solar has to be “free” by manufacturing the means to make windmills and solar panels and batterys and the grid to transvere said clean energy to our large and growing population.
And to safely and economically dispose of them once they’ve passed their useable lifetime … which is another part of it that doesn’t get discussed.
Perhaps the greatest generation allowed alarmists and fear mongers for turning us away from nuclear. See John Stossel’s video about this. Also, perhaps nuclear fusion is near. Transparent windows and icewind are intriguing. I believe that an energy strategy is needed that includes several sources.
well, derp…..
If we were really intent on making energy clean and accessible to all, we wouldn’t be talking about contrived hybrids and instead be focusing on developing some of the many existing resources to be used in a cleaner way. And we would use ALL options, not just those that massage the egos of the Left. Coal is our most abundant fuel, but we can’t even research methods of using it in a way that would minimize pollution. Not all Americans live in urban centers, or can afford to, where mass transit is abundant. Once you get beyond the coastal urban smears, the need to have energy resources to fuel vehicles and homes become necessities, not options. Solar will not fill that need nor will wind. What is more, the amount of arable land being taken up by massive solar arrays and windfarms is removing land that we could and should be using to raise farm animals and crops. By the way, those solar photovoltaic cells have about a 15 year lifespan-something the pushy sales reps don’t reveal to you. I predict that as these systems age and become less efficient, we’ll see lots of systems taken down because the cost is rising on the components. Likewise, wind turbines feature massive alloy blades that are difficult to recycle when out of use and expensive to replace. How long can we continue to base policies on feeling and emotions rather than facts? That is the key difference between the Left and the rest of us-they tell us to stuff our emotions, but we’re supposed to honor theirs. That’s simply BS.
The following is based on research I did in 2019 right after AOC accidentally spilled the REAL beans on the Democrats plans for the Green New Deal (GND)” This is an excerpt from an article I wrote published in The Lincoln Eagle May-June 2019
The GND goal is to replace every “combustion engine vehicle” – that is, trucks, aircraft, trains, boats and cars with authorized government accepted modes of electric motor propulsion within ten years. It is made clear that “Charging Stations will be everywhere,” though what type of power plants will be available to provide this electric power grid for vehicles remains a mystery, and not necessary to explain in the GND at this time. Maybe intermittent wind and solar power sources that fluctuate due to the lack sun and wind, will be improved to provide needed power without requiring sun and wind to always be present. A little side note here: I suggest you look into electric cars and their use. Full electric cars suck in the north country and in the Southwest. They are likely to improve over time, but as of this writing, full electric vehicles (not hybrid) have an average range of approximately 100 miles per full charge. A full charge takes an approximately eight hours – longer in cold weather. Batteries are miser- able in the winter and tend to act up. Expect a fully charged vehicle to have only about half the charge (thus range) as the temperature goes under 14 degrees (F), which DOES happen in winter. If you like to drive in comfort with heat in your car or listen to the radio, that too will effect how far you can drive your car. At -18 degrees your car battery is just about useless. It may power the radio while you wait to be rescued from say a blizzard, but if they ever have “charging trucks” to come out and give you a “boost” to get where you’re going, remember their charging battery will not function properly in low temperatures either. Also extremes in hot weather ages your battery and saps the overall lifespan out of it. Ask anyone from Arizona about high heat effects on car batteries and tires. (I know, I lived there at one time – average lifespan of a standard car battery 22 months) They are experts out there because they are always buying replacement batteries and tires. We’ll just have to worry about that fact down the long road
Why should the public pay for charging stations,we did not pay for gas stations.
Why are the electric vehicles not paying road taxes?
Taxes should not pay for electric car subsidies….
Just a few major issues that put the screws to normal thinking people.