Reality check on renewables
The New York Times Opinion section, “Room for Debate” page has an unusually realistic outlook on the ability of renewables to replace fossil fuels.
We are far from ready to shift to solar, wind, geothermal or even nuclear power. We are, however, ready to wean off of Mideast oil.
No matter how fervent the green industry’s desire to abandon fossil fuels may be, the reality is that we will not have the ability to move away from fossil fuels for many decades, or even centuries. If we would put the political and legislative effort into allowing their development, however, our massive reserves of coal, shale oil, and shale gas could allow us to move away from our dependence on geopolitically unstable or unfriendly regions for much of our energy.