I’m all for green technology and green power, but there are realities that I have always kept in focus, realities like population size, basic human needs, and the importance of cheap energy. Green energy ain’t cheap, at least not at present. And green energy is also inadequate to meet the basic human needs of large populations. Case in point: California.
August, 2020, has been a somewhat brutal on California. Really hot. Not to worry, right? The state has plenty of wind, solar, and hydro power, doesn’t it? No. It doesn’t. Goodbye fossil-fuel powered power plants. The Governor had to admit that the state would fall considerably short of its electricity needs. Go figure. How is that possible in a green paradise that closed one conventional power plant and lost the use of another? How is that possible in a green paradise that is closing nuclear power plants? And, how is that possible in a state that is going ahead with geothermal power even though it will be even more expensive than wind and solar energy?
Robert Burns nailed it. Steinbeck gave it a human touch. The best laid schemes of mice and men gang oft agley.* And the best intentions and plans of Californians who must go 100% green in the next 25 years as a state requirement, will, too, go astray.
And between 2020 and 2045? Well, don’t expect China, India, and developing countries to be idealistically green. California is an agglomeration of beautiful landscapes and diverse climates, but it is located where historic and prehistoric droughts have lasted long—sometimes a couple of centuries—and made life hard. Is it ironic that a state housing “Silicon Valley” as the epitome of high tech can’t supply enough energy for its citizens?
But, you say, the state is on the right path. The cars will be electric there. And if the state can’t supply energy sufficient for its current needs, where will the state acquire the additional electricity for millions of electric cars? Ah! The best laid schemes of mice and men!
*Robert Burns. “To a Mouse.” 1785. The last two stanzas tell the tale:
But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e’e,
On prospects drear!
An’ forward tho’ I canna see,
August, 2020, has been a somewhat brutal on California. Really hot. Not to worry, right? The state has plenty of wind, solar, and hydro power, doesn’t it? No. It doesn’t. Goodbye fossil-fuel powered power plants. The Governor had to admit that the state would fall considerably short of its electricity needs. Go figure. How is that possible in a green paradise that closed one conventional power plant and lost the use of another? How is that possible in a green paradise that is closing nuclear power plants? And, how is that possible in a state that is going ahead with geothermal power even though it will be even more expensive than wind and solar energy?
Robert Burns nailed it. Steinbeck gave it a human touch. The best laid schemes of mice and men gang oft agley.* And the best intentions and plans of Californians who must go 100% green in the next 25 years as a state requirement, will, too, go astray.
And between 2020 and 2045? Well, don’t expect China, India, and developing countries to be idealistically green. California is an agglomeration of beautiful landscapes and diverse climates, but it is located where historic and prehistoric droughts have lasted long—sometimes a couple of centuries—and made life hard. Is it ironic that a state housing “Silicon Valley” as the epitome of high tech can’t supply enough energy for its citizens?
But, you say, the state is on the right path. The cars will be electric there. And if the state can’t supply energy sufficient for its current needs, where will the state acquire the additional electricity for millions of electric cars? Ah! The best laid schemes of mice and men!
*Robert Burns. “To a Mouse.” 1785. The last two stanzas tell the tale:
But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e’e,
On prospects drear!
An’ forward tho’ I canna see,
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