Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries seem to hold the promise of solving the problem drivable distance in the electric car industry. Long used in camcorders and laptops, they are dropping in price and seem to be a threat to the dominance of oil and gas. This excellent article goes through the history and seems to point to a major breakthrough in further price decreases in the near future. Near the end of the article however, it point out two problems; 1) Charging stations and 2) energy supply. In SF for example, the city will need to increase the number of charging stations by over 600% by 2030; those charging stations will require 107% of the current electricity used by the entire city. So, where is the plan to increase power generation in SF alone by over 100%? https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-battery-is-ready-to-power-the-world-11612551578?page=1

As we march bravely into the 14th century (with wide spread use of wind power), there are certain truths that we all need face; in order to produce “clean energy”, we have to use more traditional (meaning based on fossil fuels) production methods. There is simply no way to create “clean energy” by using “clean energy”. The old adage that nothing is free holds true regarding energy. You may believe that the cost is worth the price, fine, but please be honest at least with yourself and face the cost. https://www.cnsnews.com/index.php/commentary/vijay-jayaraj/clean-renewable-there-no-wind-energy-without-fossil-fuels?fbclid=IwAR0X5Zz1ngnLGwGNED2WWH2rZz-ZoV35tnX9Mue5KPrkqmlliZjBdQt2KJA

There are still some among us who believe that something can be had for nothing. There are some among us who fail to carefully consider the true cost of something. These two groups can be found in those who look for “easy” answers, who hear the claims of the messiah of the moment and who rush head long into joining the masses. But, nothing is free and as this article points out, we should be more skeptical and demanding of those who lead us. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tilakdoshi/2020/08/02/the-dirty-secrets-of-clean-electric-vehicles/#3ebc3ecd650b

Politicians and special interest groups have an amazing ability to find new ways to get money from taxpayers. Instead of looking at their own poor record of land and utility management, they might do well to look at the history of what is the norm. Putting the fires in proper perspective of the natural climate would help everyone better manage and successfully mitigate future fires. This excellent article by Bjorn Lomborg points out some facts which are not politically correct, but which should be taken into account in any reasonable program to address a problem that all of the solar panels and all of the wind turbines in the world cannot change. But then, facts are not always in the best interest of vested interests are they? https://nypost.com/2020/09/14/sorry-solar-panels-wont-stop-californias-fires/

We have all heard that wind power is free, but we know that nothing is free. Aside from the cost of creating and maintaining wind turbines, they too must obey the laws of physics, meaning that in time they wear out. When they wear out, they cannot be left in place, but must be dismantled, moved and disposed of all of which requires energy and must be done at a reasonable cost. The following article discusses the cost of decommission wind turbines and the numbers so far seem to indicate that the reserves set aside for decommissioning may be lower than necessary. Finding a way to decommission may create a huge new industry, but ti will decrease the cost effectiveness of wind turbines. https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/renewable/wind/the-cost-of-decommissioning-wind-turbines-is-huge/

Somehow in the mad rush to go Green, the basics of science are being ignored. Why is that? Is science too much of an “inconvenient truth” to the Green movement? Does the almost religious passion of the Green movement feel uncomfortable with the icy cold facts of science? The following article points out that with the current technology, the dreams of the Green movement are doomed to expensive failure.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/07/carbonfree_power_solar_versus_nuclear.html