“Energy Matters” Offers Some Good News, But As Usual, There’s More To the Story
If you’re looking for a summary of news from the entire energy industry: fossil fuels, nuclear, renewables and all the peripheral technologies, you may want to check out Energy Matters; regular 2GreenEnergy readers will note that I quote something this source at least one a week.
From today’s edition: World energy consumption is forecast to grow by 28% between 2015 and 2040, and use of every source of energy (petroleum, natural gas, renewables and nuclear) will increase except one: coal…..millions of people across Northern Chinese are going into their first winter heated by natural gas instead of coal.
FWIW, I really do think we have a grip on clean energy on this planet; given the falling price of solar and wind and the growing international concern for climate change mitigation, it’s only a matter of couple of decades before we have an ensemble of extremely low-carbon solutions for our energy needs.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re home free, given the following:
• It takes many decades for CO2 to be reabsorbed once its in the atmosphere. The actual rate at which it leaves is complicated by the fact there are numerous mechanisms by with this happens, but it’s measured in decades and centuries.
• When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, the evil twin of fossil fuel consumption is the production of beef, and we’re making very little progress there. The best we can hope for is that people change their diets for moral or health reasons, and that synthetic beef comes along soon.
• On the political frontier, the most powerful country on Earth is rapidly backing up in terms of environmental stewardship. As far as environmentalists are concerned, the demise of the Trump administration can’t happen soon enough.
Needless to say, there are numerous other threats to the quality of human life here on our home planet. My driving a Prius won’t matter too much if we have a full-scale nuclear war. Current events often remind me of the cartoon above.
Craig,
(Vale Gary Larson, a great loss and always hilarious.)
The only ‘Energy Matters’ I can find on google is an Australian website largely advertising solar panels etc.
I presume you are referring to a rehash of the Reuters report.
All citizens of Northern areas in the Peoples Republic of China will NOT “go through their first wither heated by Natural Gas instead of Coal” !
Some families in places like Beijing and other areas, will be connected the giant complex of natural gas pipelines (no demonstrators in China !) being built across the PRC, but a relatively modest percentage.
For many families this is a mixed blessing. The cost of winter heating will increase nearly four fold.(those in the coal delivery and distribution business will become unemployed).
Even given the PRC government’s propensity for exaggeration, the program has been a truly enormous undertaking.
Estimates vary, but it’s probably accurate to assume between 2-3 million new users of gas will be connected within 12 months. Not many out of a population of 377 million, but it’s still a huge achievement.
Why this project is so important environmentally, is in Northern China consumers burn coal directly. Each residence using an unfiltered coal fired furnace. This sort of low heat coal usage is very, very pollutant, so the environmental and health benefits of switching from coal to gas, are greatly magnified.
The future of Coal lies in large scale electricity generation where pollutant effects can be minimized and even harnessed to generate valuable byproducts. It’s important to dissuade developing nations allowing small scale, inefficient, toxic uses of coal to continue.
Meanwhile back in the USA, the solar industry is in turmoil as the issue of tariff protection heats up.
Many of the argument both for and against tariff levies are valid, and the debate will undoubtedly attract the usual intolerant fanatics on both sides.
Tariff protection for US solar manufactures is just one issue that should for part of a long term re-assessment of the US solar industry. For too long the industry has operated in an unregulated manner. It’s time an impartial and objected re-evaluation took place.
US taxpayers and consumers need more and better information about this industry. particularly the downsides, instead of a diet of misinformation by solar industry lobbyists.