←back to thread

353 points dmazin | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.209s | source
Show context
rel_ic ◴[] No.44520938[source]
Renewable energy is great, but we're not replacing fossil fuels with it, we're just adding more energy usage. And our energy usage is destroying the environment.

Don't let these advancements in solar make you think things are getting better. We need to reduce fossil fuel usage, not just increase solar usage.

https://pocketcasts.com/podcasts/b3b696c0-226d-0137-f265-1d2...

replies(9): >>44521010 #>>44521628 #>>44521789 #>>44521802 #>>44521954 #>>44522009 #>>44522223 #>>44523270 #>>44524628 #
1. Veedrac ◴[] No.44524628[source]
This is basically just not true. Energy is fungible and the grid is demand driven. Every watt of solar displaces a watt of something else. In many places like the US we've basically stopped building nonrenewable energy generation as it's no longer economically competitive. China has to date still built a lot of coal powered generation even as most of the richer world shut theirs for greener sources, since China rightly and justly prioritized bringing a billion people out of severe poverty, but even in China the tides are turning, and we're seeing indications that 2025 could be their peak coal.

Things are getting better.