Why renewables can’t save the planet | Michael Shellenberger | TEDxDanubia

[Robertinfremont]

More on the climate debate that it is said is closed to discussion by politicians such as Al Gore.

But what if a man who fought hard to bring renewables here has changed his mind?

Would you change your mind as well?

For a good short discussion why he was wrong, watch the video.

Please do not claim he is a nut, he worked hard for your view for years until he figured out why he had been wrong.

 

[Felis Leo]

More on the climate debate that it is said is closed to discussion by politicians such as Al Gore.

But what if a man who fought hard to bring renewables here has changed his mind?

Would you change your mind as well?

For a good short discussion why he was wrong, watch the video.

Please do not claim he is a nut, he worked hard for your view for years until he figured out why he had been wrong.

Unless and until there is an extraordinary breakthrough in "clean" renewable energy (or, more precisely, energy storage), turning to nuclear power is indeed the best way to go for clean energy.

 

[Robertinfremont]

Unless and until there is an extraordinary breakthrough in "clean" renewable energy (or, more precisely, energy storage), turning to nuclear power is indeed the best way to go for clean energy.

I have never understood the fear of nuclear energy. We use it on aircraft carriers plus nuclear submarines. It has proven it's worth.

 

[Felis Leo]

I have never understood the fear of nuclear energy. We use it on aircraft carriers plus nuclear submarines. It has proven it's worth.

Nor have I. No one died at Three Mile Island. Several people died from Chernobyl, but from all the fears raised by the disaster, one would have thought that the deaths would have numbered in the tens of thousands rather than the dozens, with approximately 4,000 people succumbing to cancer/radiation poisoning over a 20 year span. And how many actually died as a direct result of Chernobyl still remains inconclusive as the Soviet Union was a cesspool of other environmental disasters any number of which beyond the reactor meltdown could have led to an early premature due to cancer.

I am going to go out on a limb to assert that most advanced open democratic nations are perfectly capable of building and maintaining better nuclear reactors than a corrupt, opaque socialist autocracy like the Soviet Union was.

 

[Guyzilla]

I have never understood the fear of nuclear energy. We use it on aircraft carriers plus nuclear submarines. It has proven it's worth.

I worked with a guy, that BRAGGED, that the nuclear valves he machined, NOT perfect. ONLY perfect ones were deemed certified for nuclear. Otherwise, only certed for coal, gas. So, they made faulty valves that could create catastrophy. Diablo canyon, was installed BACKWARDS, so they printed the controls backwards on one unit, right way on other. MANY near disasters.

MAn cannot be trusted to be perfect. To add, the nuclear industry has a special NO PROBLEM law. So if they cause five trillion in damages, they pay only 250000.

 

[ttwtt78640]

He very quickly glossed over the idea of having multiple (smaller scale) solar panel installations in areas already largely devoid of wildlife (mainly existing) rooftops citing prohibitive cost with virtually no discussion of why that was so. It appeared to be driven more by the cost (and efficiency?) of storage devices (batteries vs. huge reservoirs?) than anything else.

Personally, I like using battery powered tools/equipment even while it does not decrease my reliance (dependence?) on using other forms of energy for other purposes. Something need not be a total solution to a problem to be judged helpful or beneficial for solving (or reducing) part of it.

 

[Jonsa]

renewable energy technologies also mean grid independent power availability. Increasing efficiency of solar and wind and battery technology improving annually. the expansion will only accelerate from here.

And one of these decades fusion reactors will be commercially viable which will render nuclear obsolete overnight.