09-05-2020, 02:02 PM
(09-04-2020, 02:13 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: I don't think climate change requires more sacrifice than the pandemic has, by a long shot. Only the rich oil/fossil barons will have to sacrifice, unless they adapt and re-invest. Energy alternatives are there, and the skeptics about them are dead wrong. It's a question of who is elected; that is all. We will need more transit, but the car is still viable too if it is electric or hydrogen-powered using non-fossil energy to generate.
This part I agree with. The economics of solar power are becoming more and more compelling. The crisis will shake things up enough that the oil barons won't be able to continue their increasingly difficult rear guard action against solar, as they did during the Obama years by throwing huge tariffs on solar panels. Eventually the free market will assert itself and solar panels will become standard roofing.
The only way that could change is by workers winning out over capital in a way that destroyed existing capital and resulted in high interest and discount rates. I do think workers will win out over capital, but I don't see interest and discount rates rebounding to the extent necessary to save big oil.