United Kingdom: All Coal Plants Gone by 2025
The U.K. joins a growing list of nations that have committed to decommissioning all its coal-fired power plants, in this case by 2025.
While no one doubts that this is clearly a near-universal trend in the developed world (Canada recently made a similar pledge), a more interesting and important question is the direction to be taken by relatively poor counties like India, China, and the others that are experiencing high growth rates in energy demand. As I’m fond of saying, any clean energy solution that doesn’t address the developing world really isn’t a solution at all.
Ideally, wealthy countries with strong track records for technology innovation will realize the importance of stepping up and helping our civilization make this happen. Yet, in what is perhaps the world’s greatest irony, in reality the exact reverse is happening. By withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, the U.S. is the only country on Earth to thumb its nose at the well-being of the world’s people (including its own).
Of course, this is just another textbook example of the failure of American democracy; only 13% of U.S. voters support this president’s decision. That seven out of eight don’t agree means exactly zero. As we’ve seen so many times, the voice of the people has again shown to be virtually meaningless (a full 90% of voters want increased background checks for prospective gun owners, yet this issue cannot even be raised on the floors of Congress).
Americans would like to take pride in their country once again. Too bad it’s so intensely difficult.
Published research, out of data on public opinion and legislation over the past two decades, shows clearly that what remains of our democratic republic is highly responsive to the folks with the highest 10% of incomes. People in the lower 80% have virtually zero and certainly insignificant influence in the process.
Want improvement? Organize to end bribery in all it’s many forms, from revolving door to campaign contribution. We can’t expect to see significant positive progress until we get that done.
Craig,
Here’s a quote from and angry democrat senator,
” Trump’s tax plan could severely damage Wind and solar energy a companies depend on financing from large banks, insurers and other backers that take advantage of federal credits through tax-equity financing. without these incentives and subsides no one would invest in renewable energy. ”
[The current tax system allows a financing mechanism for businesses to buy from renewable-energy developers tax credits and apply these to their own tax bills. If the corporate credits are reduced, investors will have less need for write-offs, damping demand for renewable investment].
The Senator is an outspoken supporter for Renewable energy (he received 305 of his campaign funding from RE lobbyists).
How long the US taxpayer and consumer can continue funding a ‘success’ based on false economics, is difficult to tell, but at least in the case of Solar, the spectre of import tariffs is beginning to look attractive.
Sooner or later, the taxpayer can’t continue to artificially prop up and artificial economic model.
Cameron’s mythical top 10% aren’t really hurt by rising energy costs unlike lower income consumers. Like Germany, once the public looses faith in the RE hype, out come the pitchforks and the idealists will be the target of their rage.
Over the next three years President Trump, and the many State’s will start reducing taxpayer/consumer support for RE.
Wow, marcopolo…”mythical top 10%”…really…?
I’m sure you’re aware that tax policy has long been employed to incentivize or discourage behaviors that are judged by legislators desirable or harmful.
If you’re not aware of the inordinate power long exercised by the top tenth of income strata here and across the world, you should be.
Cameron,
“democratic republic is highly responsive to the folks with the highest 10% of incomes. People in the lower 80% have virtually zero and certainly insignificant influence in the process.”
If there was any truth in your claim, then leftist, even centre-leftist governments would never be elected. Now back in the real world, the pendulum continues to swing in time to human nature, (much to your displeasure).
Every time you find yourself of out of step with your fellow Americans, instead of accepting it might be you who are in error, prefer to bleat loudly about the ‘pernicious influence of Patricians, complacency of Equines and the dull stupidity of Plebeians’.
As Cicero observed, you obviously belong to a ratified class, so exalted as to be invisible to the human herd. Perhaps that’s why no one except your small group of enlightened ones are paid no attention from anyone, because you are invisible and impotent..
What is a “ratified class,” marcopolo…?
The study I referenced – about what remains of our democratic republic (the US) is well documented, and was published by faculty from Princeton and Northwest universities. It covered two decades of data in US public opinion and US legislation.
I regard truth as more important than being “out of step with [my] fellow Americans” and history demonstrates clearly that like-minded folk are neither “invisible” nor “impotent.”
Thanks for playing.
I think he meant “rarified.”
Possibly the best example of research on influence in income strata is a detailed study published in 2014 by Professors Martin Gilens of Princeton University and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University, covering twenty years of data on legislation and the will of the people by economic segment.
Looking across those two decades, this study clearly and conclusively verified two realities. These realities have long been both keenly felt and generally understood, but rarely so sharply and undeniably illustrated…
The first reality: Our democratic republic has remained highly responsive to the wealthiest interests within our nation, and even to the wealthiest of foreign interests.
The second reality: For the least wealthy 80% of our citizenry, political influence upon the actions of our governing leadership over the last two decades has been statistically insignificant.
Here’s a link to the study: http://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/mgilens/files/gilens_and_page_2014_-testing_theories_of_american_politics.doc.pdf
Good government – a government of, for, and by, the people – is the only hope ‘We the People’ will ever have to defend our Public Commons and advance our Common Good.
Good government won’t come from people who hate government.
Free Speech and Free Press enable much healthier elections than bribery and propaganda.
Want improvement? Ban bribery in all its forms. That’s the most important and central issue that controls all others. As long as cash reigns as king, we’ll more and more suffer beneath the most vicious greed and craven cowardice imaginable.