Al Gore proposed last week that the United States "commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years."
This man is truly insane. I shudder to think what would have happened to the United States if he had become President as he so nearly did. No, I am not saying that this man is simply wrong. I am saying that he is in this world, but he is not connected to it. He has no judgment, no wisdom, few powers of observation, and he is much less intelligent than George Bush. One has to wonder at the severe lack of judgment also generally found in those managing our newspapers and television news programs which has kept them from taking Al Gore to task for this nonsense.
Vincent Carroll, editor of the editorial pages of the Rocky Mountain News, has correctly identified Al Gore's call to kill oil, gas, and coal power generating plants as the equivalent of Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward in this editorial. This effort, he points out, would require utilities to mothball hundreds of existing plants and institute a crash program of building solar energy, wind farm, and new electricity power transmission lines, that would cause a huge increase in electricity costs to individuals and businesses. What is more, both sun and wind are highly subject to natural variations, so they would require something like huge banks of batteries or capacitors to store energy for later use, which would be very expensive and environmentally unfriendly.
I will repeat that it is lunatic to implement such a plan, even if it were true that carbon dioxide emissions were going to be a significant problem affecting the climate in 100 years. In actuality, there is no good reason to think this will be the case anyway. This makes calling for wrenching energy infrastructure destruction programs and crash construction programs of largely untried or incredibly expensive technology an idiot's delight.
Well, it could work if nuclear was a major part of the equation. But it's not going to be, is it...
ReplyDeleteI hope someone figures out how to generate safe fusion energy soon.
No, even if nuclear were a part of the electricity generation plan, there is no reasonable way to build huge numbers of new nuclear plants in 10 years. Without nuclear, which is what is intended by Gore, solar and wind power absolutely do have the severe problem that they are not steady in their production due to changing seasons, changing cloud cover, and wind variability. On the wind issue, there is a reason why seagoing freighters no longer use wind power, despite the wind being free.
ReplyDeleteOK, part of the reason is also that tending sails took quite a bit of manpower, but I expect one could now automate that function with machines.
And we must remember how wrenching such a crash program would be on the economy. The plan truly is nutty.
You're absolutely right about solar and wind being about as unreliable as I am when it comes to studying. :D
ReplyDelete"On the wind issue, there is a reason why seagoing freighters no longer use wind power, despite the wind being free."
Funny, I once heard of a ship with computer-controlled metallic sails. But I guess they're not that common, are they?
...And am I the only person who comments on this blog? I'm almost hoping for a liberal-minded troll to come and argue, just to make things interesting...ha ha. Almost. I don't mean that I wish for anyone to attack you. But it would be nice to see more visitors.
Wait a minute! I did not impugn your study habits at all.
ReplyDeleteI read about a ship with computer-controlled sails also, but I do not know of one in commercial use.
Yes, you are my best reader! Robert read at least one post on a Global Warming issue. One of my nieces who is shy about posting comments but was an interested reader, is working this summer in a town so remote, she has no Internet access. Other than that, I have no idea if I am talking to anyone at all. But, it is better than talking to the unwise politicians and commentators I listen to on TV. At least there is the potential that someone is getting the message.
Maybe my writings will be discovered after my death and serve as an archive on how individualistic some Americans were before everyone became a total ward of the state! Or maybe they will say that I was a man largely ahead of his time. Meanwhile, I suspect that my earlier postings on the subject of sexuality may keep some people from linking to my site. Or, maybe I am just a bore! Guess I am stuck with whatever I am.
Hey, I'm just kidding around. :) I know you didn't.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could go to some Objectivist websites and openly ask people to read your blog. That could work.
Or I could pay for banner ads and click for pay ads!
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe I will go so far as to go to Objectivist Living and post again occasionally and see if anyone is interested enough to follow me back to my blog. Or maybe The Rebirth of Reason has become less irritating as time has passed after the split with the Emperor of New Zealand.