QUICK NEWS, August 7: Climate Change – Never, Never, Never, Never Give In! - The Many Benefits Of New Energy
Climate Change – Never, Never, Never, Never Give In! Don’t despair – climate change catastrophe can still be averted; The future looks fiery and dangerous, according to new reports. But political will and grassroots engagement can change this
Simon Lewis, 7 August 2018 (UK Guardian)
“This is the summer when, for many, climate change got real. The future looks fiery and dangerous…[It is now clear the permafrost is melting, which means] a chain reaction around the world that pushes Earth into a terrifying new hothouse state from which there is no return…[And] even without a hothouse we are on track to transform Earth this century…[It could] lock-in of a deteriorating, isolationist, fascist future…[We face] three choices…Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation), make changes to reduce the adverse impacts of the new conditions we create (adaptation), or suffer the consequences…[W]e are heading for some mitigation, very little adaptation, and a lot of suffering…[But solving] climate change is about power, money, and political will…Thinking about climate change as a practical political problem helps avoid despair because we know that huge political changes have happened in the past and continue to do so. The future is up to us if we act collectively…[The] future is the politics we make today.” click here for more
The Many Benefits Of New Energy Renewable Energy Saves Water and Creates Jobs; Eight graphs tell the story; see for yourself
Luciano Castillo, Walter Gutierrez, Jay Gore, August 7, 2018 (Scientific American)
“Only about 3 percent of the Earth’s water is freshwater…[and, in] the U.S., 45.3 percent of the water withdrawn from lakes, rivers and underground aquifers is used to cool off thermoelectric power plants: nuclear reactors and plants that burn fossil fuels...This is more water than used nationwide [public consumption or] for irrigation…[It] threatens the U.S. water supply…[To conserve] freshwater, it seems clear that the country should shift toward renewables. This move would make more freshwater available for food production and human consumption…
…[And] expanding renewables creates far more jobs than expanding fossil-fuel and nuclear power plants combined. Some of the benefit is from construction jobs to build out solar infrastructure. U.S. coal and oil jobs have been disappearing, and the delivery and burning of more natural gas adds few jobs because the operations are highly automated, requiring few people…Solar jobs pay roughly the same median salaries as fossil fuel jobs…Wind jobs pay less, on average…[The levelized cost of electricity from solar panels and wind (on land) is very similar to that of natural gas…[and] less than that from nuclear and especially clean coal…[which means a shift to renewable energy in the U.S. can greatly reduce water use, lower carbon dioxide emissions, create new high-paying jobs and keep electricity costs low…” click here for more
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