Think globally act locally right? All I know is, I am well into my second year of having an all electric car (nothing fancy mind you, just a '17 Chevy Bolt) and I love it. The quickness of it, and not having been to a gas station since August of '23.
Dok, why do you need a charger in your garage? I've been charging with just a regular outlet in my garage for years. It's slow-charging, but I get everything I need in just a few hours over night.
Hate to be a negative Nelly, but this is climate bright siding and it’s not helpful. Putting up a few solar panels, which require fossil fuels to manufacture and transport, is not going to fix 500 zeta joules of heat entropy.
Fossil fuel use continues to climb. That’s not a “transition,” that’s demand rising to meet supply. We need DEGROWTH, which means more efficient energy use and LESS energy use.
We need nuclear power and regulations on corporations and refineries and power plants that are actually enforced. None of that is happening and we needed it decades ago.
Coal use has probably already reached its peak and is definitely on a plateau. The predictions are that it will start dropping soon and fast.
Oil seems to be on a plateau as well but it could go either way.
Natural Gas seems to still be rising but not as fast as it used to.
It's not *good* news, but it is less bad news. Like when the firemen say they have the situation under control, it doesn't mean the fire is out, and it doesn't mean more stuff isn't getting destroyed, but it does mean that the fire brigade knows the limits of the fire and can keep it from spreading unpredictably. It is almost always followed by the fire being put out eventually.
Yes, it would have been better if it was done decades ago, but whining about the past is demotivating so you're making things worse. I like the parts where you're pushing us to be more realistic, but there's no need to crush all hope for anything resembling a future while you do so.
Dump ran on drill baby drill. He won. His minions cheered. They believe they will save on heat bills. That’s if it’s even true. It’s been snowing still.
EVERYTHING requires fossil fuel to manufacture and transport. I agree with the need for regulations on big power use which sadly will not happen under Orange dumbass and his admin of thieving grifting cronies.
No it doesn't, we can produce without fossil fuels. For example I am currently producing plant biomass (a pair of ferns) and oxygen using ceramic pots, earth, water, and sunlight.
That we're not doing it a lot doesn't mean it always requires using fossil fuels, it just means that either people haven't switched yet or that using fossil fuels is cheaper (if you don't count the climate damage).
You are correct. Not everything. May the earth mother make your ferns fruitful and lush. But many things that are produced in a manufacturing setting at scale do require fossil fuels. If we had more renewable energy of non-CO2 spewing sort (where is our Mr. Fusion from back to the future?) this would be greatly reduced.
So you see part of the problem and why fossil fuel use continues to rise each year. We should have started building nuclear power transport ships years ago.
If we weren’t living in a neoliberal nightmare, maybe we could decommission some of our unnecessary naval ships…
The problem with bright siding is that it vastly over estimates what renewable power is actually accomplishing, which allows governments around the world to ignore the degrowth that actually needs to take place.
Stop trying to demotivate everyone. We need the courage to go on, and that requires seeing that occasionally our work leads to results, no matter how minor.
I’m not trying to demotivate anyone, I’m trying to point out that pretending a sprinkler on a wild fire will save us is just denial.
That’s not helpful, anymore than fake carbon credits or fake plastic recycling. Telling people that they’re saving the planet by using paper straws will kill is all.
That’s not my opinion, that’s what the climate experts are saying. We need real solutions, not copium.
"...can’t stuff the entire oil industry in a closet and keep it there until the crisis passes...."
I kinda think that too many people ( denialists or not ) really think they're going to see a moment when "the crisis passes". Ain't gonna happen, and the changes in the climate that are already happening will continue for decades ( not only staying the same, but increasing ) even if we stopped emissions entirely - and "carbon capture", so far, is too little, too late.
I'm not saying we should stop all efforts at combatting climate change and we should continue to devise more ways to help us adapt and mitigate - but one should not get their hopes up for a timely solution.
As with most of Trump's "policies" (aka wet brainfarts based on some Russian troll farm post he reads on social media), rolling back Biden's programs to support the energy transition will only hurt American industrial competitiveness. Europe isn't going to stop, and China's just getting started in decarbonizing their economies. Large companies around the world have made net zero pledges and they're not backing off of them, not least because there are many influential institutional investors that aren't letting them.
So this is going to happen, and if America doesn't play, the low-carbon supply chain we're developing here will end up in China.
p.s. I love my 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV. Less so in the New England winter, admittedly, and there are times I long for a small, electric pickup truck, but for 99% of the trips I make, it is the right solution.
Ta, Dok. I've been living as lightly on earth as I can since the first Earth Day. We look forward to the day when the pied-à-nuage can go off grid, but it's not happening tomorrow. For now, we're vegan, cook almost everything from scratch, compost our food waste, and will be growing more of our own food starting even before the weather gets warm. In NYC, we all live like bees in a very busy hive already, and our neighborhood is 100% walkable.
Ditto here since the first Earth Day! I have a regular car, but I am old and so is she so I drive to the farmer Market/Co-op once a week and walk or bus the rest of the time. We do everything else we can to live lightly.
Cybertruck will be eligible for $7500 Federal tax credit.
Trump wants to kill the program.
Interesting times.
You can pry my space-suit from my cold, dead hands, Dok! I searched long and hard for that Mr. Spock Action Helmet and I ain't giving it up!
For most people a plug in hybrid maybe a more carbon neutral. Toyota makes the case that the super big batteries of EV's may never pay for themselves.
In 2024, for the first time, wind and solar energy generated more electricity in America than coal,
I actually did not know this. That’s very encouraging.
But dinos are still 60%. Lots of CO2.
Think globally act locally right? All I know is, I am well into my second year of having an all electric car (nothing fancy mind you, just a '17 Chevy Bolt) and I love it. The quickness of it, and not having been to a gas station since August of '23.
Dok, why do you need a charger in your garage? I've been charging with just a regular outlet in my garage for years. It's slow-charging, but I get everything I need in just a few hours over night.
Hate to be a negative Nelly, but this is climate bright siding and it’s not helpful. Putting up a few solar panels, which require fossil fuels to manufacture and transport, is not going to fix 500 zeta joules of heat entropy.
Fossil fuel use continues to climb. That’s not a “transition,” that’s demand rising to meet supply. We need DEGROWTH, which means more efficient energy use and LESS energy use.
We need nuclear power and regulations on corporations and refineries and power plants that are actually enforced. None of that is happening and we needed it decades ago.
Looking at the numbers from ourworldindata:
Coal use has probably already reached its peak and is definitely on a plateau. The predictions are that it will start dropping soon and fast.
Oil seems to be on a plateau as well but it could go either way.
Natural Gas seems to still be rising but not as fast as it used to.
It's not *good* news, but it is less bad news. Like when the firemen say they have the situation under control, it doesn't mean the fire is out, and it doesn't mean more stuff isn't getting destroyed, but it does mean that the fire brigade knows the limits of the fire and can keep it from spreading unpredictably. It is almost always followed by the fire being put out eventually.
Yes, it would have been better if it was done decades ago, but whining about the past is demotivating so you're making things worse. I like the parts where you're pushing us to be more realistic, but there's no need to crush all hope for anything resembling a future while you do so.
Dump ran on drill baby drill. He won. His minions cheered. They believe they will save on heat bills. That’s if it’s even true. It’s been snowing still.
EVERYTHING requires fossil fuel to manufacture and transport. I agree with the need for regulations on big power use which sadly will not happen under Orange dumbass and his admin of thieving grifting cronies.
No it doesn't, we can produce without fossil fuels. For example I am currently producing plant biomass (a pair of ferns) and oxygen using ceramic pots, earth, water, and sunlight.
That we're not doing it a lot doesn't mean it always requires using fossil fuels, it just means that either people haven't switched yet or that using fossil fuels is cheaper (if you don't count the climate damage).
You are correct. Not everything. May the earth mother make your ferns fruitful and lush. But many things that are produced in a manufacturing setting at scale do require fossil fuels. If we had more renewable energy of non-CO2 spewing sort (where is our Mr. Fusion from back to the future?) this would be greatly reduced.
So you see part of the problem and why fossil fuel use continues to rise each year. We should have started building nuclear power transport ships years ago.
If we weren’t living in a neoliberal nightmare, maybe we could decommission some of our unnecessary naval ships…
The problem with bright siding is that it vastly over estimates what renewable power is actually accomplishing, which allows governments around the world to ignore the degrowth that actually needs to take place.
Stop trying to demotivate everyone. We need the courage to go on, and that requires seeing that occasionally our work leads to results, no matter how minor.
I’m not trying to demotivate anyone, I’m trying to point out that pretending a sprinkler on a wild fire will save us is just denial.
That’s not helpful, anymore than fake carbon credits or fake plastic recycling. Telling people that they’re saving the planet by using paper straws will kill is all.
That’s not my opinion, that’s what the climate experts are saying. We need real solutions, not copium.
"...can’t stuff the entire oil industry in a closet and keep it there until the crisis passes...."
I kinda think that too many people ( denialists or not ) really think they're going to see a moment when "the crisis passes". Ain't gonna happen, and the changes in the climate that are already happening will continue for decades ( not only staying the same, but increasing ) even if we stopped emissions entirely - and "carbon capture", so far, is too little, too late.
I'm not saying we should stop all efforts at combatting climate change and we should continue to devise more ways to help us adapt and mitigate - but one should not get their hopes up for a timely solution.
Exactly, like covid, a warmer and more unstable climate is now a permanent part of our lives.
As with most of Trump's "policies" (aka wet brainfarts based on some Russian troll farm post he reads on social media), rolling back Biden's programs to support the energy transition will only hurt American industrial competitiveness. Europe isn't going to stop, and China's just getting started in decarbonizing their economies. Large companies around the world have made net zero pledges and they're not backing off of them, not least because there are many influential institutional investors that aren't letting them.
So this is going to happen, and if America doesn't play, the low-carbon supply chain we're developing here will end up in China.
p.s. I love my 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV. Less so in the New England winter, admittedly, and there are times I long for a small, electric pickup truck, but for 99% of the trips I make, it is the right solution.
Just no Teslas?
PS - I stop to study very few cars and the EV6 was one. Nice design. If my 10-year-old Subaru 4 banger didn't have only 36K on it, I'd consider it.
Sarah-Mae, the climate scientist, approves of this article.
"Let’s get our spacesuits on and get to work. No, you in the back there, it’s a metaphor."
But we *can* wear them if we want, can't we?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxRoK5LZa_A
I love you too!
Ta, Dok. I've been living as lightly on earth as I can since the first Earth Day. We look forward to the day when the pied-à-nuage can go off grid, but it's not happening tomorrow. For now, we're vegan, cook almost everything from scratch, compost our food waste, and will be growing more of our own food starting even before the weather gets warm. In NYC, we all live like bees in a very busy hive already, and our neighborhood is 100% walkable.
Ditto here since the first Earth Day! I have a regular car, but I am old and so is she so I drive to the farmer Market/Co-op once a week and walk or bus the rest of the time. We do everything else we can to live lightly.
Jesus must not have liked Boise State’s coach after all. God, nothing worse than Bible thumping coaches.
New Years Resolution(s)
Live to see another.