Monday, May 11, 2015

Dangerous wishful thinking about renewables

Renewable energy sources like solar and wind do not solve the problem of human growth. In the last 200 years, we have released heat of fossil-fuels that took millions of years to store. This has allowed the human population to grow very fast and develop a complex energy-dependent society.

It seems logical that if we can use the energy that is coming in from the sun before it is stored, we can stop using fossil-fuels. The problem is, we haven't so far, and we won't.

Why?

There are many reasons, but here is what may be the main one.

Too many people think it will work with little or no change to the current growth-is-good thinking.

We still have at least two billion people who are being told it is possible to live like suburban America. That is an extremely powerful force that will keep the oil and gas companies in power for many years to come.