Paris Burning: We Could Just Say Goodbye to Fossil Fuel?

Paris has become the stage for today’s greatest issues to strut their stuff: terrorism, fossil fuels, oil, global warming. Today we must confront our own misdeeds, stop being in denial and unite together to fight the causes of terror, global warming and the well funded intellectual corruption, and stupidity that darkens our world. We just need to Say Goodbye to Fossil Fuel; killing so many ravens with one stone—just by saying “nevermore.”

People who try and promote an energy policy built upon fossil fuel are, to put it simply, just plain bad people. There’s no way around that. That is not to say that oil executives are bad people, they are doing what any executive must do: make a profit, using any legal tools available.

So who are the bad guys?

1. Standard Oil (now Exxon) who supported and banked on Hitler winning the War—so that they could conduct business without regulation.
2. Standard Oil’s allies in this process, Prescott Bush, Brown Brothers Harriman, and the pre-CIA intelligence services.
3. The 1953 coup of the democratically elected Iranian president (over oil)–leading to today’s animosity.
4. Oil, Yalies funding CIA operations against Cuba, Bush Sr. involvement.
5. The 1963 JFK assassination. Bush connection.
6. The CIA Watergate framing of Nixon. Bush connection.
7. Delayed Iranian hostage release.
8. 1980’s energy policy—Bush/Cheney.
9. 1992 Whitewater nonsense instigated by Bush Sr.
10. 2000 – 2008 Bush Jr./Cheney energy policies.
11. Six trillion dollars wasted on Bush/Cheney Middle Easter wars.
12. Radicalization of Islam, Al Qaeda, ISIS; Pakistan acquiring the Bomb.
13. Oh, and global warming.

So how can I prove that oil corrupts the US political process?

Thirty-one Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee—the entire Republican contingent on the panel—declined to vote in support of the very idea that climate change exists.

What are the odds that every Stupidparty member on the energy committee has below average intelligence? It would be the same as tossing a coin and getting heads thirty one times in a row: (½) * 31= 0.00000000047 or one chance in 47,000,000,000. So, since that scenario is highly unlikely, the answer must be that these people have been corrupted by money, dirty oil for blood money. In 2014, energy interests spent $140,000,000 to corrupt our leaders and 2014 is not even a key election year:

But what happens when the oil interests suffer?

1. Prices plummet (you must figure out what is the obvious thing to do at this point, to ensure that the laws of demand v. supply do not undo all the good).
2. Russian aggression controlled, stability in Ukraine; Eastern Europe, a likely ally in Syria.
3. Iranian imperialism mitigated.
4. Funds to Middle Eastern enemies reduced.
5. Human rights issues would not have to be ignored in places like Saudi Arabia.
6. Canada regains its moral integrity–chucking out oil-backed Harper.
7. Oh, and global warming gets mitigated*; being a mere existential threat to mankind.

*Don’t agree? Well unless you are a climatologist your opinion is hardly relevant.

So today is a good day—oil has lost more than half its value and, despite forecasts to the contrary, prices have stayed depressed. Some believe that that is bad for the economy, others that it will yet bounce back. They say that when oil becomes cheaper, the alternatives will suffer. But how do we suffer such insufferable orthodoxy? How can more expensive energy be good for an economy? It can only be good for the bad guys. It turned the USA into a villain—it corrupts anything it touches.

But back to now—a golden opportunity presents itself—one last chance for redemption. Why would the price of oil bounce back? If that were to happen, it would only be because idiotic and immoral policies are allowed to linger. Then we will get what we deserve. But we know that the orthodoxy is wrong; we know this by looking at the numbers. First of all, even if renewables (the cost of which are falling fast) are more expensive than oil, who gives a damn? Governments are making plans oblivious to short-term thinking. That is one of the great advantages of government over pure capitalism: governments can think with longer economic horizons.

So why am I bullish? Why do I believe that the days of the oil barons destroying humanity and every other living species, for that matter, are numbered? And salvation lies within our hands, our hands operated by our critical-thinking brains. Well, I will start with a small story and then I will up the ante.

Not so many years ago, in a land far, far away, there was an almost ideal island paradise. But the island had an energy policy built upon sand and oil, its power coming from a diesel-powered power station. Every so often, a big tanker would swing by to deliver oil from other far away places that might use the newly acquired money to fund armies or build Madrassahs, for uneducated swathes of poor people with no “freedoms” to learn critical-thinking skills.  Almost as bad they might fund places like Liberty University to encourage anti-science nonsense. Then one day a mighty wind swept this island and blew that power station down. The Sun came out, and the people of that island had a vision, and they asked unto themselves: why allow the wind to put us in darkness, when wind can be harnessed to create light? So when that foul tanker came to visit, the people of that island said: away you dark beast, we do not need your oil blood money anymore. So off that tanker did go seeking other fools for its sick cargo.

The moral of that tale?

 1) Bonaire, 100% Renewable Energy:

Caribbean Island Says Goodbye Fossil Fuels, Hello 100% Renewable Electricity

2) Iceland, 100% Renewable.

3) Norway, 100% Renewable.

Leading the world’s green electricity race are Iceland and Norway, both generating a full 100% of their electricity from green sources. Norway gets 99% from hydro and 1% from other renewable sources of energy. Iceland has, as many people know, a good deal of geothermal power (27%), with hydro making up the remaining 73%.

 4) Switzerland plans to have in excess of 100% renewable energy. This is how they plan to get there:

5) Costa Rica, which gets 94% of its electricity from green sources: 76% hydropower and 18% from other renewable sources (largely geothermal).

6) Brazil, with 87% hydropower and other renewable sources of electricity. 

7) Colombia, 80% renewable electricity (all but 1%, again, hydropower).

8) Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nepal: smaller nations which get all or nearly all of their electricity from hydropower.

Other countries are making progress

9) A Moroccan solar plant will bring energy to a million people.

It is part of Morocco’s pledge to get 42% of its electricity from renewables by 2020.

10) Scotland

Last month, wind turbines alone provided approximately 1,279 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity to the national gird, enough to supply the electrical needs of 164% of Scottish households, or 3.96 million homes.

The latest figures further highlight the record year seen for renewables in Scotland, with wind turbines providing an average 746,510 MWh each month—enough to supply 98% of Scottish households electricity needs.

11) Ireland

According to figures record by EirGrid on Wednesday (Jan. 7, 2015), wind energy had created 1,942 MWh of energy, enough to power more than 1.26 million homes.

12) Germany

Renewable energy was the biggest contributor to Germany’s electricity supply in 2014, with nearly 26% of the country’s power generation coming from clean sources.

13) Denmark

Denmark set a new world record for wind production in 2014, getting 39.1% of its overall electricity from the clean energy source.

The latest figures put the country well on track to meet its 2020 goal of getting 50% of its power from renewables.

14) Japan 

Concerned about nuclear plants the country plans to go from zero (non-Hydro ) renewables to 15% by 2030.

15) India

A $20 billion joint venture aimed at Indian renewable energy is the latest sign of fresh investment in the sector as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to aggressively boost output.

SoftBank, Bharti Enterprises and Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology recently announced the creation of a joint venture firm called SBG Cleantech to develop alternative energy plants across India.

The move comes after India’s cabinet approved a drastic increase in capacity targets. By 2022, Modi wants solar capacity at 100 gigawatts (GW), a five-fold increase from the previous target of 20GW. That averages to around 14GW a year, more than the amount of solar power added in the U.S. and China last year.

All of the above numbers would look a great deal better if projected out to 2050. EU countries are well on the way to meeting the EU’s target for 20% renewable energy in the overall energy supply by 2020, a new report shows.

Companies are reacting to their critical thinking customers:

Amazon Web Services has announced its largest renewable energy project to date, a 208 MW wind farm that will supply current and future Amazon cloud data centers. But Amazon is just scratching the surface. These are the largest companies that function using 100% renewables. Naturally, blue states lead the charge in critical thinking: 90% of the renewable savings of the top 40 companies come from blue states.

Some people say that the USA cannot go 100% renewable, it takes up too much space, etc. What utter nonsense. The USA has oceans of everything, such as oceans, rooftops, utility poles (acting as wind turbines), deserts—and if push comes to shove—you have the Dakotas. Much of which (at least from an airplane seat) being barely able to support a scorpion, let alone mankind. I just do not see how much damage can be done in utilizing a landscape resembling Mars, which global warming will only make worse. (OK, I have not been there so I am being somewhat tongue in cheek).

But in all seriousness, where there is a will, there is a way and of course the USA does not need to keep using fossil fuels. Here would be one plan:

Clean technology is on the move. Just look at this graph that examines the cost of Solar panels and the rate of new installation.

There are plenty of other green energy technologies in the pipeline.

So the question is, does America want to be a force for good or for bad? Do they want to lead the world like they have just shown that they can?

Or do they want to keep on being an anchor on humanity? Do they want to have a future built upon the Bush family and Dick Cheney’s legacy? Remember for twenty of the last thirty-five years there has been a Bush as President or Vice President, always controlling the energy agenda. Before that, they were (one of them at least) orchestrating the demises of Kennedy, Nixon, and Carter.

What do you want to be? What side of history will you be on? And what are you going to do about it?

Because now is the time to say goodbye to all those bad habits.