Aaaaand I was 100% WRONG About China

[David Horn]

(11-01-2022, 01:26 AM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(10-31-2022, 01:45 PM)David Horn Wrote: Zero-carbon energy has to be reliable and cheap enough to fight-off the skeptics.  So far, cheap seems to be doing well, but reliable, not so much.  If we go for reliable using intermittant sources (ie wind and solar) energy storage or massive managed redistribution will be a must.  Neither is likely because storage will require massive mining of not very earth friendly minerals, and redistribution will require political cooperation from everyone, when only some will actually benefit.  That's no reason to avoid doing what can be done.  It simply won't be enough.

It would have even been enough by now had we built it, but Republican resistance stopped this. The skeptics should not be enabled. We either vote for salvation or disaster; it's on the ballot. Batteries are already sufficient and getting better. Cobalt is being phased out. Utility scale batteries will switch from lithium to salt. Concentrated solar power was improved and should be used, and molten salt batteries work well with it. Grid management already works where it is used. Renewables provide more flexible management than nuclear. CA averted shutdowns during the heatwave. Texas did not avoid shutdowns during its freeze. The difference is clear. More improvement is necessary, but we already have the means to supply all our needs through renewables. Nuclear is a good back-up for now. Hydro may be unreliable because of increasing drought, except in northern areas. It is best to keep up to date with developments. My global warming blog is a good place to start.

I'm responding to your assumptions, not the tech. You assume that Republicans have blocked this. No, the short-sighted voters did that, and continue to do that today. Watch these elections. Voters look at their wallets first. Unless their wallets are in great shape, it tends to stop right there. Anything that takes years (forget decades) won't get a hearing. The only time that's not true is when the they are scared sh!tless by what's happening in their lives right now. By then, fixing many problems is nearly impossible.