QUICK NEWS, October 7: New Energy Beats GeoEngineering On Cost, Time, Risk; The Public Wants New Energy
New Energy Beats GeoEngineering On Cost, Time, Risk In a climate crisis, is geoengineering worth the risks? More research on such tech as ocean seeding and space mirrors is needed, some scientists say
Carolyn Gramling, October 6, 2019 (Science News)
“…[Geoengineering, which is tinkering to delay or halt the worst effects of global warming,] may once again be getting a closer look…Not everyone is sure this is a good idea…What hints scientists do have about the possible effects of geoengineering come from ‘natural experiments’ such as massive volcanic eruptions that briefly but intensely alter atmospheric or ocean conditions…[but] there are still few real-world data…[The October 2018 special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] highlighted both the potential benefits and drawbacks of strategies such as stratospheric aerosols and ocean seeding…
[Rising environmental concerns have effectively prevented scientific experiments…[But unprecedented] risks posed by climate change over the next few decades may require a willingness to at least consider even seemingly absurd geoengineering ideas…[But geoengineering’s many potential pitfalls haven’t made it popular with most] Democratic presidential candidates, whose climate platforms focus instead on ways to reduce U.S. reliance on fossil fuels…” click here for more
The Public Wants New Energy Americans really want the US to adopt renewable energy like wind and solar power, while rejecting fossil fuels like coal
Joseph Zeballos-Roig and Angela Wang, October 1, 2019 (Business Insider)
“…[A large bipartisan] majority of Americans strongly favor cleaner sources of energy over fossil fuels…[B]oth self-identified Democrats and Republicans support the idea of the nation transitioning towards renewable sources of energy…Solar and wind power were the top two preferred alternative energy sources…The use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power has doubled in the last decade, according to the US Energy Information Administration, and federal and state policies combined with the declining cost of production drove much of the growth…Natural gas, which is a cleaner-burning fossil fuel, overtook coal as the nation's top source of electricity in 2016, highlighting the energy transition currently underway…
Solar power was the most preferred form of energy…Wind was the second-ranked energy source…Hydroelectric power ranked third…Geothermal power was fourth…[Natural gas, biomass, petroleum, and nuclear followed, and coal] ranked dead-last…[But the Trump administration has loosened environmental regulations and] threw a lifeline to the struggling coal industry by easing restrictions on coal-burning power plants. The Energy Information Administration projects that it won't reverse coal's decline and that its share of electricity generation will be 22% in 2020…[As] the federal government pulls back from combating climate change under the Trump administration, states and cities are increasingly filling the void, setting the US in an opposite direction the public favors…” click here for more
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