Co-authored by Ronald Stein and Tom Kirkman
Shockingly, zero-emissions zealots have no comprehension that renewables like wind and solar only exist to generate occasional electricity. Since these so-called renewables, cannot manufacture any of the more than 6,000 products and the various transportation fuels made from hydrocarbons for vehicles, planes and ships, which are demanded by the infrastructures of today, the same infrastructures that did not exist 200 years ago.
We often hear that solar and wind electricity is “clean” and basically “free” and it does not have thermal losses like a nuclear or gas-fired power plant. But to make this wind and solar energy usable and reliable in the real world, we must build enormous support systems, mine rare minerals, manufacture components, build storage, upgrade the grid, maintain everything, and then, eventually, dispose of it. It’s not just about a solar panel and a little breeze blowing over a turbine blade.
Those green ideologies are 100 percent political in the few wealthy countries that can afford to subsidize their delusions with taxpayer funded subsidies! Examples of the “green” delusion:
- The “green” mandates for transitioning from ICE vehicles to EVs, those so-called “zero emissions” vehicles would only eliminate gasoline used in ICE vehicles, which is only one of the more than 6,000 products made from hydrocarbons. The EV, like the ICE vehicle, continues to be 100 percent made from those oil products, inclusive of tires, computers, wiring and insulation, and all the electronics of true climate progress begin not with mandates, but with energy literacy — understanding what energy can and cannot do, and respecting the balance between ambition and reality.
- None of the green illusionists, inclusive of one of its political leaders such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, can explain how wind turbines and solar panels can make any of the other 5,999 products derived from oil that we see in operating hospitals, airports, offices, shopping centers, data centers, etc. or how those renewables will support the merchant ships, cruise ships, commercial aircraft, and military aircraft on this planet that did not exist 200 years ago.
The massive amounts of mining and manufacturing needed to make the physical components for industrial scale wind and solar installations, and EV batteries are very bad for humanity and the environment.
- In the Congo, cobalt miners exploit children. The SKY NEWS 6-minute video is confirmation of the Pulitzer Prize nominated book “Clean Energy Exploitations” that describes the human atrocities and environmental degradation occurring in developing countries so that wealthy countries can go green.
Subsidies to purchase EVs are financial incentives to encourage further exploitations of poor people in developing countries. The environmental impacts of EV mandates; impacts that are deliberately being ignored by EV evangelists.
Consequently, there may be growing ethical and moral concerns from buyers of EVs about them “financially supporting” China, which monopolizes the EV battery component market.
Failures of the green transition era are insults to taxpayers as the world’s population depends on insulation, wires, computers, and fertilizers that “renewables” cannot provide. The ideology of “net-zero emissions,” while politically appealing, is in practice destructive to future generations. By discouraging the construction of new refineries and processing facilities in developed countries, it undermines the very foundations of the supply chain that delivers essential fuels and products to society. If this trajectory continues, the outcome will not be a cleaner or safer world, but rather one marked by shortages, rising costs, and declining living standards for billions of people.
So, the question as to how to meet the growing demand for electricity then becomes how to continue to add continuous, uninterruptible, and reliable sources of electricity, to feed the growing global demand for constantly increasing amounts of energy? The future is looking increasingly bright for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
Amazon recently announced that it is helping to build one of the first Small Modular Nuclear Reactors in America. SMRs are next-generation nuclear reactors. They are much smaller than traditional nuclear reactors, and are specifically designed to enable simpler design, faster deployment, and lower construction costs.
- “This project isn’t just about new technology; it’s about creating a reliable source of carbon-free electricity that will support our growing digital world,” said Kara Hurst, Amazon’s chief sustainability officer. “I’m excited about the potential of SMRs and the positive impact they will have on both the environment and local communities.”
It seems that zero-emissions ideologists are indeed energy blind as all their so-called “solutions” are made with parts and components dependent upon fossil fuels. All six methods for the generation of electricity from coal, natural gas, hydro, nuclear, wind, and solar are built with the products, components, and equipment that are made from oil derivatives manufactured from crude oil. Without fossil fuels there would be no so-called renewables!
