Tim Knowles
Sep 3, 2018 · 2 min read

I support a rapid transition to less polluting sources of energy and I believe that Green House Gas (GHG) emissions are responsible for the bulk of global climate change.

I think you cherry picked you energy costs comparison data and you did not provide your sources. Using more realistic numbers would not have hurt your argument as much as using rosy numbers damages your credibility.

With this you mix transportation and industrial heating and processes in with power generation “However, no single one of these is a larger problem than fossil fuel combustion, so the most important issue to tackle first is our consumption of fossil fuels.” Decarbonizing transportation and industry is not a simple matter of switching to renewables like wind and solar. You should have compared carbon pollution from electric power plants too other sources and the same conclusion would be reached, except renewables would only eliminate about a third of GHG emissions. Yes, completely eliminating fossil fuel power plants would eliminate a lot of emissions and would be a good thing but the concrete foundations, steel towers and copper and steel generators that go into a wind farm are made using fossil fuels.

Average Lifecycle GHG emissions caused by producing electricity using solar power is 85 tons per gigawatt hour. Better than fossil fuels and of course this will come down as we clean up the power supply.

I guess my point is you paint too rosy a picture and it is clear you are biased. That damages your credibility and strengthens the bias of those who have been misinformed by the fossil fuel advocates.

This is a complicated subject and should be treated with the depth it deserves. We need to reduce our GHG emissions and renewable power will play a big role and the market is working in its favor already. The bigger challenge is GHG emissions in the transportation sector. The economics aren’t there yet but something needs to be done soonest, more taxes or incentives will be needed.

TEK

    Tim Knowles

    Written by

    Worked in our nations space programs for more than 35 years

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