Great description of the current situation. My personal prediction is that net zero is going to be recalculated to 2150 as opposed to 2050 since we are certainly at least a century away from the technology necessary to power the lifestyles we currently have, let alone improvements, without burning fossil fuels
No less important is access to clean water. The health impacts are immediate, and laying a water pipe frees enormous amounts of time spent each day in walking and carrying water, predominantly done by women in poorer areas. It needs some sort of pump power, such as electricity, but is surely one of the most effective uses of energy for making life better among the poorest.
Oops Robert isn't that being a bit Sexist and Patronizing in this day and age.
What you meant to say is, that without electricity women are unable to use the electric lawnmower to mow the lawn, trim the edges, cut the hedge and use the leaf blower.
Japan should be returning to nuclear too. Before three of the six reactors at Fukushima Daiichi (Number 1) were damaged by the tsunami after the Tohoku earthquake, the station was among the 15th largest in the world, in terms of total generating capacity. The generators were not damaged by the earthquake, but three of the six (units 1, 2, and 3) were damaged by coolant failure because the auxiliary generators and switchgear were in the basements, which were not waterproof. The building of unit 4 was damaged by a hydrogen explosion in unit 3. Fukushima Daini (Number 2) has essentially identical reactors. Its buildings' lower levels were submerged by the tsunami, but they are waterproof and fuel is on high ground, so the auxiliary generators and their switchgear kept coolant flowing and the reactors were not damaged. Japan should restart Fukushima Daiichi units 4, 5, and 6, with their auxiliary generators and switchgear and fuel on high ground or in waterproof rooms, and build the two planned additional units. Read the full story in Chapter 9 at http://vandyke.mynetgear.com/Whence-Energy.html
Very informative article, Robert. Despite the pledge you recently mentioned of multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg to spend a billion dollars for his "beyond hydrocarbons" campaign, the economics of using coal for electricity generation and industrial processes insures the planet will be using copious amounts of coal for decades (or centuries) to come.
I have personally worked for 4 years in Rwanda to extend the distribution network and connect entire villages to the national grid. It is a game changer when you have electricity.
As one Rwandan lady told me: “Now I can finally see the beauty of my village during the night”.
How about you come to South Africa, bringing lots of money, to pay off the government officials and construction mafia, and repair our ailing electricity grid???
If you aren't censoring comments behind a paywall: now that global climate destruction is a demonstrated fact, the Fossilized Industry is now making the case that to show we really care about the disenfranchised poor women of the world, we must leverage coal and other fossils. Good PR firms you can afford to hire.
First of all, it doesn't matter what the Industry says; India and China are going to continue to use coal because it makes economic sense to them. All the stupid windmills and solar panels we can erect won't change that. Second, we don't know how much AGW is going to affect the climate or civilization. We have only the models. But you would have to think humans are pretty stupid not to be able to work around a changing climate when we have lived through both warming periods and ice ages. Third, I would rather play it safe when it comes to AGW, which means lots more nuclear and lots more clean natural gas to replace coal. As SmithFS points out most greenies think mining is magic and wind and solar will be enough, are against nuclear and want to get rid of all fossil fuels, which is ridiculous.
great article on coal ... but I think you need to take it a step further and urge the West to develop nuclear like gangbusters because it will take time to develop and grow the companies and workforce (engineers, trades, operators) to learn how to do it cheaply enough it can be exported to replace coal plants all over the world, including the US, Japan, Germany etc ... wherever there is a coal plant it should be replaced by nuclear - it will take decades but we should be starting now
There is one irony that is again putting women (who usually do the family laundry) back to the washtub (i.e., sink). The continual energy-standards degradation of washing machines has resulted in clothing not getting cleaned, even if one sets the washer to deep level and two rinses.
Some women with children (who are rough on clothing, stain-wise) or who want clean clothing are resorting to prewashing by hand in the sink before inserting the clothing into the washer. The non-elected government energy-saving bureaucrats have pushed women back into the washtub age.
I'm old enough to remember life without electricity. Every time I sit with a cup of coffee and hear the washing machine and dryer cleaning the laundry and the dishwasher doing the dishes, I am thankful. Kerosene lanterns and outhouses are vivid memories. The current push to go backwards is ridiculous.
Thank you, this is a great piece. I will be sure to send to my knucklehead sister. A long time ago I remember reading women in third world countries who were lucky enough to get cellphones were more apt to create revenue by charging phone time to neighbors thus bring money and food to their immediate families. They would invest back in their families at a higher percentage than men. The elites don’t seem to understand the ripple effect. I really appreciate you work and send it to my boys and so yes, I will subscribe
We need to break free of idiot government. "Woke" is a poor description of a government that is asleep at the switch when it comes to simple common sense.
I gave a similar talk to a group of MBA students at Rice University a couple of years ago. I was really surprised how many informed, educated and service minded students were unaware of the relationship between poverty, women's suffarage, health and economic development, never mind where the primary sources and uses of energy. Rice is in Houston Texas! Keep talking and writing! Maybe you should embark on an old fashion barnstorming speech mission.
Great description of the current situation. My personal prediction is that net zero is going to be recalculated to 2150 as opposed to 2050 since we are certainly at least a century away from the technology necessary to power the lifestyles we currently have, let alone improvements, without burning fossil fuels
No less important is access to clean water. The health impacts are immediate, and laying a water pipe frees enormous amounts of time spent each day in walking and carrying water, predominantly done by women in poorer areas. It needs some sort of pump power, such as electricity, but is surely one of the most effective uses of energy for making life better among the poorest.
Oops Robert isn't that being a bit Sexist and Patronizing in this day and age.
What you meant to say is, that without electricity women are unable to use the electric lawnmower to mow the lawn, trim the edges, cut the hedge and use the leaf blower.
Japan should be returning to nuclear too. Before three of the six reactors at Fukushima Daiichi (Number 1) were damaged by the tsunami after the Tohoku earthquake, the station was among the 15th largest in the world, in terms of total generating capacity. The generators were not damaged by the earthquake, but three of the six (units 1, 2, and 3) were damaged by coolant failure because the auxiliary generators and switchgear were in the basements, which were not waterproof. The building of unit 4 was damaged by a hydrogen explosion in unit 3. Fukushima Daini (Number 2) has essentially identical reactors. Its buildings' lower levels were submerged by the tsunami, but they are waterproof and fuel is on high ground, so the auxiliary generators and their switchgear kept coolant flowing and the reactors were not damaged. Japan should restart Fukushima Daiichi units 4, 5, and 6, with their auxiliary generators and switchgear and fuel on high ground or in waterproof rooms, and build the two planned additional units. Read the full story in Chapter 9 at http://vandyke.mynetgear.com/Whence-Energy.html
Very informative article, Robert. Despite the pledge you recently mentioned of multi-billionaire Michael Bloomberg to spend a billion dollars for his "beyond hydrocarbons" campaign, the economics of using coal for electricity generation and industrial processes insures the planet will be using copious amounts of coal for decades (or centuries) to come.
Thanks for the great article.
I have personally worked for 4 years in Rwanda to extend the distribution network and connect entire villages to the national grid. It is a game changer when you have electricity.
As one Rwandan lady told me: “Now I can finally see the beauty of my village during the night”.
How about you come to South Africa, bringing lots of money, to pay off the government officials and construction mafia, and repair our ailing electricity grid???
If you aren't censoring comments behind a paywall: now that global climate destruction is a demonstrated fact, the Fossilized Industry is now making the case that to show we really care about the disenfranchised poor women of the world, we must leverage coal and other fossils. Good PR firms you can afford to hire.
First of all, it doesn't matter what the Industry says; India and China are going to continue to use coal because it makes economic sense to them. All the stupid windmills and solar panels we can erect won't change that. Second, we don't know how much AGW is going to affect the climate or civilization. We have only the models. But you would have to think humans are pretty stupid not to be able to work around a changing climate when we have lived through both warming periods and ice ages. Third, I would rather play it safe when it comes to AGW, which means lots more nuclear and lots more clean natural gas to replace coal. As SmithFS points out most greenies think mining is magic and wind and solar will be enough, are against nuclear and want to get rid of all fossil fuels, which is ridiculous.
great article on coal ... but I think you need to take it a step further and urge the West to develop nuclear like gangbusters because it will take time to develop and grow the companies and workforce (engineers, trades, operators) to learn how to do it cheaply enough it can be exported to replace coal plants all over the world, including the US, Japan, Germany etc ... wherever there is a coal plant it should be replaced by nuclear - it will take decades but we should be starting now
I think Robert is in favor of that and has appeared on the decouple podcast and hosted Chris Keefer. I agree, and hope we can do that.
Wyoming allowed women to vote before Colorado did.
There is one irony that is again putting women (who usually do the family laundry) back to the washtub (i.e., sink). The continual energy-standards degradation of washing machines has resulted in clothing not getting cleaned, even if one sets the washer to deep level and two rinses.
Some women with children (who are rough on clothing, stain-wise) or who want clean clothing are resorting to prewashing by hand in the sink before inserting the clothing into the washer. The non-elected government energy-saving bureaucrats have pushed women back into the washtub age.
I'm old enough to remember life without electricity. Every time I sit with a cup of coffee and hear the washing machine and dryer cleaning the laundry and the dishwasher doing the dishes, I am thankful. Kerosene lanterns and outhouses are vivid memories. The current push to go backwards is ridiculous.
The Big River keeps rolling on!
Thank you, this is a great piece. I will be sure to send to my knucklehead sister. A long time ago I remember reading women in third world countries who were lucky enough to get cellphones were more apt to create revenue by charging phone time to neighbors thus bring money and food to their immediate families. They would invest back in their families at a higher percentage than men. The elites don’t seem to understand the ripple effect. I really appreciate you work and send it to my boys and so yes, I will subscribe
We need to break free of idiot government. "Woke" is a poor description of a government that is asleep at the switch when it comes to simple common sense.
Excellent comprehensive piece, Robert. Keep smacking the idiots over the head with science and logic. The cracks are forming. We will win.
I gave a similar talk to a group of MBA students at Rice University a couple of years ago. I was really surprised how many informed, educated and service minded students were unaware of the relationship between poverty, women's suffarage, health and economic development, never mind where the primary sources and uses of energy. Rice is in Houston Texas! Keep talking and writing! Maybe you should embark on an old fashion barnstorming speech mission.