Good news for climate from US energy production despite Trump

Torstai 14.5.2020 klo 11.38 - Mikko Nikinmaa

When President Trump came to power, he vowed to make coal-based energy production stronger than previously. In general, he has supported the use of fossil fuels in energy production and withdrew USA from the Paris Climate Accord. Despite this, very good news are coming from the energy production sector in USA for the last months.

As a background for this the following must be stated. The federal government does not give any subsidies for energy production using renewable sources. Thus, energy companies buy needed energy from producers, who can deliver power most economically.

With this in mind, it is significant that in 2020 energy obtained using renewable sources (windmills, solar power, hydroelectric power) has exceeded coal-based energy production for 90 days already, as reported in a New York Times article today. This is all the more remarkable, as in 2019 the renewable energy production exceeded energy production using coal only in 38 days.

From this one can conclude that the coal era is rapidly coming to end, as energy is more expensive to produce using coal than using renewable resources.

Kommentoi kirjoitusta. Avainsanat: climate change, renewable energy, coal, fossil fuels

Incredible - Trump administration pulling out of the Paris Climate Treaty

Keskiviikko 31.5.2017 klo 20.33

Among the incredible things that the Trump administration has done probably the most amazing is that the administration is pullin out of the Paris Climate Treaty. It is amazing, because the future commercial profits will be made in clean tech and other environmentally friendly commercian solutions. While Trump talks about clean coal, even India, which has been very conservative in solutions of energy production, has decided to cancel building fourteen new coal power plants, because energy produced using solar panels is not only cleaner but also cheaper than coal energy. I wonder where Trump government is planning to sell the clean coal and any coal-related energy solutions, since no-one in the world is buying them?

Note that I have been saying Trump government and not USA throughout. It is because it seems that none of the forward-looking people and economic circles support the government in this silly out of 1960's decision. 

Kommentoi kirjoitusta. Avainsanat: climate change, fossil fuels, renewable energy

Climate of Hope

Tiistai 16.5.2017 klo 15.51 - Mikko Nikinmaa

I am just reading the book Climate of Hope by Michael Bloomberg and Carl Pope. In this age that we, on the one hand, have leaders like Trump and Putin, who live in 1960's and say that human actions have no effect on world climate, and actually advocate the increasing use of fossil fuels - like clean coal, and on the other hand, have pessimistic climate prophets stating that world's end is looming, it is refreshing  to read a book that is optimistic and tries to find solutions. It is naturally so that we first need the pessimistic prophets to wake us up, but if nothing further is given, people just get depressed and do nothing, since the world is ending soon anyway. But there is reason for optimism: so far all the environmental problems have been solved. The silent spring has never come, the acid rain and smogs in Europe and North America have stopped, and the ozone hole is filling up. Since there are solutions also for climate change, why not be optimistic. And further, the solutions are such that economic activity increases and jobs are generated. They will not be generated in coal mines, but in producing windmills, solar panels, wave energy power plants, batteries for electric cars etc. Trying to push jobs into coal plants does not function, because they cannot produce energy as economically as the renewable energy power plants. So, instead of thinking that nothing can be done any more, let's allow the sun to shine, and optimistically do our own climate actions where we can. The climate of hope - for a good tomorrow.

Kommentoi kirjoitusta. Avainsanat: climate change, renewable energy, fossil fuels