Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathgod
The reason why the world's energy system hasn't mostly moved away from fossil fuels already is because of decades of heel-dragging and climate change denial.
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Science tells us climate change is real. Science also tells us none of the alternatives come anywhere close to fossil fuels in energy generation, efficiency, portability, or reliability.
Denmark has been investing in wind power for over 40 years. Today, with an ideal geography for wind power, along with the massive state subsidies, wind power provides between 38 to 47 per cent of country's electricity generation. Because wind power fluctuates so much, the country still has to maintain and run enough conventional oil and gas powered plants to power the country. And of course that's just electrical generation - fossil fuels are still the main source by far for transportation, home heating, and agriculture.
That's the scale of progress we can expect with a dedicated investment in transitioning away from fossil fuels - a few per cent per decade. Barring a miraculous scientific breakthrough, most of the world's energy needs 40 years from now will still be met by fossil fuels.
The fact that so many otherwise educated and intelligent people believe we still use fossil fuels because of politics and not science shows just how hard it will be to move forward in a post-truth world.