Pink_Slyvie t1_j00ofrd wrote on December 13, 2022 at 5:41 AM

It's a catch-22 as it stands. We need to tackle climate change, this is going to be super expensive, but we could heat every house in the country on renewable electric within the decade if we put resources into it.

Alas, the population, even the Democrats, aren't willing to put in the effort to make that change, so we need to keep pulling NG. Politics will cost us the planet.

Hazel1928 t1_j02ok74 wrote on December 13, 2022 at 5:29 PM

I disagree that we could use all renewables. Nuclear has much less environmental impact. The correct path is to switch all our fossil fuels to natural gas. Use natural gas until we can build fission. By the time we get the fission built, hopefully we can build fusion.

Pink_Slyvie t1_j02psyi wrote on December 13, 2022 at 5:36 PM

We could use all renewables. It would take a shift in our energy usage habits, but it's very obtainable.

Even things like properly insulating all homes would be massive, making it so the vast, vast majority of US homes would not need heating at night to stay comfortable.

Really all that would need constant power is refrigeration, creature comforts, and emergency services. This is obtainable with different energy storage methods, and If we hold to capitalism, increasing electric rates in the evening.

Yes, there are countless exceptions, but they are in the minority and we can adjust to them.

Yes, nuclear is an option to, but it should be a stopgap for now to go renewable. Fission might come, it might not. Plan for what we have, not what might be.

Aggravating_Public46 t1_j0414eh wrote on December 13, 2022 at 10:30 PM

Big news today about fusion. Applied fusion is years away but has been made in a lab in England.

Pink_Slyvie t1_j042aa4 wrote on December 13, 2022 at 10:38 PM

Tests still need verified, and even if it's valid (fingers crossed), it won't be ready until it's too late to prevent catastrophic climate collapse. To prevent said collapse, we need to stop burning fossil fuels by checking notes, about 1970.....

Funny say of saying it aside, we won't prevent it at this point. Now we can just hope to mitigate it before it's to late. Humans aren't good at fixing problems that need fixed now to prevent issues decades away.