Green Technology And Regulated Capitalism: An Optimistic Outlook

"Nuclear power contributes to nearly 20 percent of the electricity generated in America, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Enormous growth has occurred since the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which allocated more money towards climate, and green energy subsidies than any piece of legislation in American history. But a lot of work still remains. Jigar Shah is director of the Department of Energy Loan Programs Office, a role in which he oversees investing and scaling carbon free energy. Before this position, he was a clean tech investor. He joins WITHpod to discuss recent inflection points, the future of nuclear, the importance of remembering that 'big things' can be done and why he’s more hopeful now about the space more than ever."

Click on the link below for an understanding of how rapidly the conversion to Green Energy is happening within regulated capitalism:

The Explosion in Green Tech

Another Sign Of The Impending Existential Threat From Climate Change

"The mystery of the Siberian tundra craters may have been solved… but the discovery could point to something far more dangerous."

Click on the link below for the frightening details:

Frightening Reason Behind Explosions Over Tundra

Yes, Cold Snaps In Winter Can Be Caused By Global Warming

"After a summer of record-breaking heat, vast swaths of the United States are now grappling with extreme cold as a brutal Arctic blast brings snow squalls, deadly ice and life-threatening wind chills.

"As unprecedented heat makes way for cold, it can provide fuel for climate-change deniers who point to freezing temperatures as evidence that global warming is overstated.

"But scientists are clear: cold extremes will still occur even as winters warm overall.

"Global heat records outpace cold records — 2023 was the hottest year on record by a huge margin. And even as the US struggles to cope with intense bursts of heavy snow now, over the long term, the human-caused climate crisis has led to an alarming trend of disappearing snow in the Northern Hemisphere.

"Some scientists say that climate change may even be playing a role in these icy blasts, as warming in the Arctic increases the likelihood that frigid, polar air can sweep southwards."

Click on the link below for more against the conservative, anti-science propaganda:

Why we still have brutal cold snaps even as the planet warms to record levels

Reality Can Be Counter-Intuitive

"What is better, planting trees or covering the same area of land with solar panels? A group of geoscientists from Israel just looked at this, and they say that solar panels come out way ahead. Let's have a look at what the paper says."

Click on the link below for the details:

Solar arrays better than trees for climate, study says

Climate Change And The Details Of Science

"Many of the world's biggest problems require asking questions of scientists -- but why should we believe what they say? Historian of science Naomi Oreskes thinks deeply about our relationship to belief and draws out three problems with common attitudes toward scientific inquiry -- and gives her own reasoning for why we ought to trust science."

Click on the link below for the details of the best method to understand reality:

Why we should trust scientists

An Updated Look At Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Energy has been downgraded by many experts because of its history and expense. Since it seems that its negatives have been overstated, and it's going to be necessary to solve global warming through many routes, it is more than time to see what new technologies regarding nuclear energy bring to the buffet. Click on the link below for the details:

Is nuclear power really that slow and expensive as they say?

Scientific Consensus Clarified

"There are so many misconceptions about consensus in science: What is a consensus? Does science work via consensus? 

"I ask these questions and more in this interview with John Cook, the main author of the 97% consensus on climate change study!"

Click on the link below for the details:

Scientific Consensus with Dr John Cook

Lithium Batteries: The Disposal Problem

"Currently, lithium (Li) ion batteries are those typically used in EVs and the mega batteries used to store energy from renewables, and Li batteries are hard to recycle.

"One reason is that the most widely used methods of recycling more traditional batteries, like lead-acid batteries, don't work well with Li batteries. The latter are typically larger, heavier, more complex, and even dangerous if taken apart incorrectly."

Click on the link below for details:

Lithium batteries’ big unanswered question

Gravity Batteries: Another Approach To Clean Energy?

"Could a cutting-edge technology that harnesses one of the universe's fundamental forces help solve our energy storage challenge?

There is a riddle at the heart of the renewable energy revolution. When the wind blows, the sun shines, and the waves roll, there is abundant green power to be generated. But when skies darken and conditions are calm, what do we do?

The answer, today, is to ramp up conventional power production, supplying the grid by burning fossil fuels. It is a 20th Century solution to a 21st Century problem – one that sits in sharp contrast with plans for carbon neutrality.

A cleaner future will mean focusing on ever-larger lithium-ion batteries, some energy experts say. Others argue that green hydrogen is the world's best hope. And then there are those placing their bets not on chemistry, but the limitless force that surrounds us all: gravity.

"Underpinned by Newton's immutable logic – what goes up, must come down – this new field of energy storage technology is, in principle, remarkably simple. When green energy is plentiful, use it to haul a colossal weight to a predetermined height. When renewables are limited, release the load, powering a generator with the downward gravitational pull."

Click on the link below for the details:

Can gravity batteries solve our energy storage problems?

Geothermal & Geoengineering: A New Focus On Attacking Climate Change?

"As the hottest year in 125,000 years or so begins to come to a close, we turn to two projects still in their infancy that have big plans to decarbonize our electricity generation on one hand and give us a bit more time to turn our climate futures around on the other. The first is a reinvigoration of the geothermal power industry with the hopes of scaling up globally and the second is geo-engineering which aims to reduce the solar radiation hitting the planet to reduce devastating climate impacts while the world finishes up the work of going carbon neutral. Both ideas are a little scary, either or both could be brilliant or disastrous. The two things that are clear to me are that failure in the face of climate chaos will definitely be disastrous and any ideas with a reasonable chance of helping deserve further study."

Click on the link below for a podcast regarding two approaches to addressing climate change that are under the radar presently:

Testing New Climate Science Solutions

Ocean Currents: They ALSO Are Affected By Climate Change

"A vital system of ocean currents could collapse within a few decades if the world continues to pump out planet-heating pollution, scientists are warning – an event that would be catastrophic for global weather and 'affect every person on the planet.'"

Click on the links below for some information you probably have not been exposed to that is vital for understanding the complete effects of climate change:

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Current – of which the Gulf Stream is a part – could collapse around the middle of the century, or even as early as 2025

Let's talk about AMOC

The Sixth Mass Extinction

"A mass extinction is a short period of geological time in which a high percentage of biodiversity, or distinct species—bacteria, fungi, plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates—dies out. In this definition, it’s important to note that, in geological time, a ‘short’ period can span thousands or even millions of years. The planet has experienced five previous mass extinction events, the last one occurring 65.5 million years ago which wiped out the dinosaurs from existence. Experts now believe we’re in the midst of a sixth mass extinction.

"Unlike previous extinction events caused by natural phenomena, the sixth mass extinction is driven by human activity, primarily (though not limited to) the unsustainable use of land, water and energy use, and climate change." (link)

Presently, the Earth is experiencing its highest temperature in 120,000 years. To put that in perspective, at that time, most modern humans (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) were only living in Africa and had human cousins to deal with. If you think that this is no big deal, you are not listening to science experts dealing with the state of the Earth and humanity. Click on the links below to get a perspective regarding THE existential crisis facing our reality:

What is the sixth mass extinction and what can we do about it?

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

Earth's sixth mass extinction event underway, scientists warn

How humans are driving the sixth mass extinction

California: A Disaster Waiting To Happen?

"It's a weird thing to think about, but all around the world there are towns at the bottom of lakes. Many are from reservoirs and dams built to generate power or clean water for cities, but some were from insane natural disasters. Here we talk about some of the most interesting sunken towns in the world, and a potential disaster on the horizon in California called ARkStorm that could sink hundreds of towns and threaten millions of lives."

Click on the links below for videos presenting a potential disaster for California that is not mentioned often:

Forget Earthquakes: THIS Is What Could Doom California

https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/atoms/video/ARK_FINAL_FINAL_960x540_H264.mp4

Solar Panels In Space?

"Solar power is a nice idea. Except for the issue with the clouds. And the nights. So, how about we instead put solar panels up in space and then beam the energy down? This futuristic idea is known as “Space Based Solar Power”. It’s been around since the 1960s, but in recent years several nations have launched projects to make it reality. I think they’re not kidding. Space-Based Solar Power is about to become a real thing. But how is it supposed to work? Is it a good idea to beam energy down from space? What are the pros and cons? That’s what we’ll talk about today."

Click on the link below for an in-depth, objective view of this energy option in the future:

How crazy is the idea to beam solar energy down from space?

Why Are People Antiscience?

"From vaccination refusal to climate change denial, antiscience views are threatening humanity. When different individuals are provided with the same piece of scientific evidence, why do some accept whereas others dismiss it? Building on various emerging data and models that have explored the psychology of being antiscience, we specify four core bases of key principles driving antiscience attitudes. These principles are grounded in decades of research on attitudes, persuasion, social influence, social identity, and information processing. They apply across diverse domains of antiscience phenomena. Specifically, antiscience attitudes are more likely to emerge when a scientific message comes from sources perceived as lacking credibility; when the recipients embrace the social membership or identity of groups with antiscience attitudes; when the scientific message itself contradicts what recipients consider true, favorable, valuable, or moral; or when there is a mismatch between the delivery of the scientific message and the epistemic style of the recipient. Politics triggers or amplifies many principles across all four bases, making it a particularly potent force in antiscience attitudes. Guided by the key principles, we describe evidence-based counteractive strategies for increasing public acceptance of science."

Click on the link below for a scholarly, in-depth look at the danger and harm of anti-science, as well as its causation and recommended remedies:

Why are people antiscience, and what can we do about it?

Waste Heat: A Climate Change Issue That Is Smoldering

"All power plants create waste heat that contributes to global warming. At the moment, the contribution is fairly small, but if mankind flourishes it is bound to increase and eventually it will become a problem. The only thing we can do about it is to build an air conditioner for the planet. Scientists have come up with ideas for addressing the problem that I hope you will find entertaining."

Click on the link below for an interesting look at the long-term risks of climate change:

Waste heat will boil the oceans in about 400 years

Stop Getting Your Science From Politicians

"If there's any one thing I've repeated the most in 17 years of the Skeptoid podcast, it's to stop getting your science from politicians. And so many listeners still seem to have missed that.

So where should you go for your climate science? There are many great places. Some of them are sources like NASA Earth Science, the European Space Agency's ESA Climate Office, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) or the WMO (World Meteorological Organization) — and before you say "Oh, I won't listen to them because they're part of the United Nations" — then what I'm hearing you say is that your politics should determine where you're going to get your science. If that's you, then rewind about 60 seconds, and repeat as many times as necessary."

Click on the link below for more:

Climate Change Checkup 2023

We Are Losing The Battle

“We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator" (link)

"On this World Environment Day, June 5, the urgency of the climate emergency is creeping closer and closer to home. Oxfam’s recent report 'Inequality kills' warned that 231,000 people each year could be killed by the climate crisis in poor countries by 2030. This is a conservative estimate, millions could die in the second half of this century." (link)

"We are still nowhere near the scale and pace of emission reductions required to put us on track toward a 1.5 degrees Celsius world. To keep this goal alive, national governments need to strengthen their climate action plans now and implement them in the next eight years.” (link)

A Science-Based Look At Electric Cars

"Electric vehicles are not necessarily greener because they create no emissions. We have to take a look at the bigger picture. Source of electricity, depending on the fuel, can produce greenhouse gases. Manufacturing the components of the car, such as batteries also makes CO2. We review CO2 produced by EVs compared to gasoline cars throughout their lifetime."

Click on the link below for more:

Are Electric Cars GREEN OR NOT? The Ultimate Verdict

Hydrogen: Feasible As A Replacement For Fossil Fuels?

Out of all the alternatives to fossil fuels, hydrogen is not mentioned in the same breath as wind, solar, or nuclear. Sabine Hossenfelder goes in-depth in the video below to explain all of the pros and cons regarding it:

Hydrogen Will Not Save Us. Here's Why.