The Atlantic published this article on August 20 about the issue. It came up in a feed for me today, and I don’t think it’s a new story, but The Atlantic’s article was a good one (as usual).
Trump's (and his minions') desire to prop up a dirty, black-lung industry that has hurt not just its workers but the entire climate and therefore everyone and everything within it, has resulted in a politically motivated move to bury information about a study that could have guided us to improve our energy grid, save billions, make energy more reliable, and reduce carbon emissions.
Republicans continue to make the wrong decision as long as it will benefit themselves, their cronies, their donors, and make them look like they're a friend to blue collar workers.
The U.S. continues to lose our place in the world as others march forward with technology and ideas, and we cling to coal and build walls. We are becoming a has-been, an afterthought, and if t'Rrump and his corrupt administration and the corrupt conservatives in Congress want to complain about us playing second fiddle to China, the blame rests squarely with them for that, as they block every effort to fund improvements to energy, education, and research and development where it matters.
What's really pathetic is this argument, quoted from The Atlantic article, that "fossil fuels keep the heat on during extreme cold snaps". Better energy storage will keep the heat on during extreme cold snaps. But let's just say for the sake of argument, and because it's true for the time being, we're not there yet, and we will need fossil fuels at least on occasion (and obviously we're still heavily reliant on them *right now*). That's fine, but there's no reason we can't improve the grid as outlined by the Seams study, and have those polluting plants available as a backup when demand increases or other factors (like the purported extreme cold snaps) cause problems.
One of the (many, asinine) bumper stickers I have seen in my area was on the back of an oversized pickup (which was quite shiny, and I'm betting the owner didn't actually need for any purpose other than desperately trying to demonstrate his masculinity) that defiantly declared, "I'm Pro Pipeline, Because...", and went on to basically say oil is real, and alternative energy is unicorn farts. I can't remember the exact phrasing after those first few words, but that was the sentiment, I promise you (and it may in fact have used the term unicorn farts). It made me chuckle of course, because I had just stepped out of my fully electric car which I charge at home, where I subsidize over 100% of the electricity I use with renewable — mostly wind — energy. The point though is that TwoScoops' zombie hordes seem to be convinced that you can only have one (fossil fuel or renewable energy), and that they have to actively denigrate and dismiss the idea of renewable energy.
The puppet masters, the lobbyists, and industries they represent are dragging us down so they can make money from fossil fuels. As if there is no money to be made from renewable energy and related industries (tell that to Tesla and its battery business, a company whose shares have now been labeled with a 'target' price of $2500-$3500 per share). Renewable energy fields also provide good paying jobs for blue collar workers. Oil and gas companies, take the millions, billions, and trillions that you've earned and start investing it — either spin up your own companies or invest in existing ones that do the manufacturing, installing, maintenance, and yes, even recycling and refurbishing of renewable energy components and you can continue to make money.
For the antagonistic hordes, perhaps alternative energy is just not manly enough — you're not coated with oil and your lungs are not filled with soot at the end of a shift, so why even bother? Or perhaps they're just happy to accept any inane argument from the puppet masters in their tribe, such as the idea that it's just not widespread enough, and can't meet our needs. I wonder if that was the same argument used by horse breeders, the equine tack industry and the Local 402 of Stable Boys (I am not insulting unions, just taking a jab at t'Rumpian imbeciles) as the combustion engine appeared on streets, or whale hunters as electric lights very slowly started to light up homes across the country. We have people out there constantly finding fault with plans to improve our energy efficiency, increase renewable energy, and reduce our impact on the climate, essentially throwing in the towel and not contributing anything positive. For some "journalists", that's their job — be contrarian, find some other "angle" that will allow their article to be published. It's always important to be realistic, but the ultimate effect of these nobs is that it just gives talking points to those with a vested interest in not doing anything at all, and it causes other people to just shrug and give up, thinking that nothing can be done. Which is BULL****. Yes, these are big jobs, transforming our energy grid, installing and improving renewable energy production, and it sounds like these people just aren't up for the task. Good thing they weren't around when someone suggested we should put a man on the moon, or that would be one less thing for them to wave their little flags about. Imagine what they would have said when the idea was floated that we should run wires to every home for this new-fangled tele-phone (or electricity, or cable TV) — ‘nope’. Impossible. Every home?! In the country?! Unicorn farts. You can't talk to someone on the other side of the country over a wire anyway. The pony express is the only real method of communicating over distances, and anything else is just a fantasy. Until the railroads came, and the telegraph. What you mean, "cell" phone?! They have to put up thousands of rx/tx towers all over the country and people can talk without wires around the world?! Yeah, like that's ever going to happen. And then, "oh my GOSH! The reception's so spotty and my calls are always getting dropped and this is so unreliable that it will never take the place of wired telephones".
Let’s just say that we’re a bunch of conservative losers who ignore reality and are afraid of taking on big challenges. Let’s just say for the sake of argument that climate change is entirely natural (it’s not). The climate is changing either way, and if we just let it go and don’t rein it in, there are a lot of things we’re going to have to deal with, from agriculture to destructive storms to rising sea levels and everything in between (not to mention the loss of species, habitat, and biodiversity, but if we’re pretending to be conservatives, “who the f*** cares about anything but us”). We’re going to have to deal with all of that, and that’s not going to be a small job either. Stop being a bunch of worthless (actually, not just worthless, they are actively taking us in the wrong direction) malingerers and pointing out why we can’t do something and start investigating what we can do. Idiots.
Along with the people who make their living by saying, ‘nope, there’s not enough available renewable energy ; job is too big ; it won't change anything [wrong] ; let’s not bother’, we're being held back by a belligerent variation of Luddite who just can't stand anything new or different and cling to "traditions" and a "way of life" that in the grand scheme of things just aren't that old, but like everything else, must make way for the new, and make its way to the museum — just because something provided jobs and other benefits for a time, does not mean we have to be held back due to some fear of the future and changes in our lives. t'Rump and his MAGAts are causing the entire country to watch in dismay as the rest of the world (or at least a number of countries) move forward and displace the U.S., because they don't like things to be different.
The Atlantic article's final paragraph starts with this: "If NREL researchers are able to work unencumbered by political concerns and release Seams in its entirety, it could help point the U.S. toward a greener future, in which a robust economy runs on renewable energy."
Vote them out, and let's move forward.
