In his essay, he cites eight principles - Security, Reliability, Affordability, Versatility, Scalability, Emissions, Land use & Lifespan - on which to evaluate energy options. Some key points:I started to realize that I had accepted as true certain claims about energy and our environment. Now I began to see those claims were false. For example:
*I used to think solar and wind power were the best ways to reduce CO2 emissions. But the biggest reduction in CO2 emissions during the past 15 years (over 60%) has come from switching from coal to natural gas.
* I used to think that the world was transitioning to solar, wind, and batteries. This, too, was false. Trillions of dollars were spent on wind and solar projects over the last 20 years, yet the world’s dependence on fossil fuels declined only 3 percentage points, from 87% to 84%.
* I used to believe nuclear energy was dangerous and nuclear waste was a big problem. In fact, nuclear is the safest and most reliable way to generate low-emission electricity, and it provides the best chance of reducing CO2 emissions.
It’s now clear I was chasing utopian energy. I was using green energy myths as moral camouflage, and I was able to believe those myths as long as I remained ignorant about the real costs and benefits of different energy sources.
- Relying on energy imports or minerals from other countries puts a nation at risk.
- If energy is unaffordable, businesses can’t make the products we want & need, and people will freeze to death in their homes.
- Wind and solar sources are often located far away from where people live and work, making it difficult and expensive to transport the energy to where it is needed.
- A typical 1,000-megawatt US nuclear power plant needs little more than 1 square mile to operate. Solar farms need 75 times more land to produce the same amount of energy. Wind farms need 360 times more.
- Nuclear plants can operate for over 80 years and run for 100 years if they are well-maintained. By contrast, solar panels and wind turbines last only about 20 years.
FULL ESSAY
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