Realities of Wind and Solar    

    Despite huge investments in wind and solar infrastructure, a measure of carbon dioxide put into the air - for each unit of energy consumed - has not changed in a generation.

    Governments and investors have spent an estimated 
$2 trillion over 10 years to draw electricity from the wind and the sun. In fact, such capacity in 2015 was more than 10 times what the International Energy Agency had forecast years earlier. 

   While the price of wind turbines and solar panels is falling, the cost of connecting these sources with users is not. Big investments are required to transmit electricity from source to consumer. 

   Generating plants must be built - burning fossil fuels - to maintain power when wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine. And when renewables are engaged as intended, these backup investments stand idle. 

   Another Catch 22: Power prices will continue to rise, possibly discouraging electrification in some places. Customers might then prefer alternatives like gas, adding more carbon dioxide emissions.

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   What this tells me: If, if global warming is going to flood coastal areas, it will, regardless of our energy options. All the political yak-yak and Paris Accords will not prevail over nature. In our opinion.  

   We agree, take advantage of hydro, wind and sun, but even the liberal New York Times says, "Perhaps renewables are not the answer." 

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Whose Power Is Cleanest? 

   Norway wins the prize, with 97% of its electric power generated by hydro, nuclear, wind or solar. Next come Sweden, 91%; France, 89%; and Switzerland, 86%. The U.S. gets 32% from clean sources.

   In actual carbon emissions, not percentages, the biggest emitters are the U.S., Canada, Russia, Germany, South Korea, China, India, Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, not necessarily in that order.

   New York Times               

         Jimmy