Can Renewable Energy Really Power the World?
Another year; another climate conference. As world leaders gather to make new promises bolder and better than before, the clock ticks ever closer to climate catastrophe. This year’s agenda is the same as every other year: how to reduce fossil fuel emissions without rocking the boat.
India proclaimed they’ll hit net-zero by 2070. China, not wanting to be outdone, promised net-zero by 2060. That will be a proud achievement for the locals living in cities too hot for human habitation.
It’s all very rearranging deckchairs on the titanic.
The goal is to keep global temperatures 1.5°C lower than pre-industrial levels. Seemingly ignoring the current evidence that 1.5°C is probably baked in, with a 2.5 to 4.5°C rise the most likely outcome by 2100.
To do that promises to reduce fossil fuels rely on a fundamental assumption: renewable energy is sufficient to power the world. (And can be built within the necessary timeline — roughly 10–20 years).
There’s reason to doubt this assumption, however.
Google’s Perplexing Decision to Stop Renewables Research
In 2011, two senior Google engineers spilt the beans on renewable energy. After working for several years on Google’s “RE<C” initiative…
