Cant happen fast enough. Without oil, theres no reason to fight over Hormuz. The dinosaurs are forcing one last battle as the meteor hurtles their way.
I'm eager to install batteries to translate our solar power into nighttime energy. But I can't bring myself to give a penny to Tesla. This battery news is promising and inspiring! #Gratitude
Roberta, last year my husband and I installed 8 house batteries made by Enphase that remain charged by our 72 panel solar field and automatically become our sole power source in case of conventional power failure. We’re very pleased with them thus far.
Roberta, I’ve been driving a 2021 Chevy Bolt since buying it new 5 years ago and now it’s got 80,000+ miles. Feels great to be driving an EV that isn’t a Tesla!
We sold our Tesla when Musk bought Twitter and I knew I didn’t want any association with his corrupt values. We replaced the Tesla EV with a KIA EV and like it 💯x more. We charge it with the sun and are now contemplating battery options to take the sun’s power into the night. I’m appreciating all the recommendations to power through!
I’m very interested in the bright white solar panel. If it works it would be great for roofs in western cities, where you have a lot of sunlight and a need to cool down roofs.
We need all this good news now, as God's 'chosen people' proceed to turn the sacred creation into living hell. I wish there were many more ways to help people imagine how wonderful it could be to live in a green sustainable world. The best thing about renewables is how distributed they are, and therefore, how democratic. You can't centralize the sun........nor would anyone want to...........and with battery storage coming on so fast.........its not only stupid wars that will end the age of fossil fuels and fools........
It's this rapidly rising New Technology. Thank you Bill, for keeping us up to speed on the future that is possible.
Thank you Bill, for such an enlightening and optimistic perspective at this time of horrific destruction and consequent focus on fossil fuels dependence … really important news to disseminate! NOW…
In Australia we’re getting offers by energy providers to plug our e-cars at night so they can justify the need for coal burning. Likewise, there is not much discussion about solar and lithium battery disposals and recycling. The energy transition needs a rethought sociotechnical framework instead of using the existing one (cutting corners and burying waste). Not just emergence but future thinking too.
We could bury decades of RE waste in existing coal ash dumps and need a map to ever find it again. And the ongoing risks of toxic leachates will be from the coal ash. The problem wastes from fossil fuels are truly staggering in scale.
Yes, we should always try to do it better - more, better recycling and safe disposal (which isn't being ignored) - but don't let waiting for the perfect be the enemy of good enough or even just better, because sticking with fossil fuels until then only makes things worse.
Also (in a similar vein) the heavily promoted alarmist fears of renewables overwhelming productive agriculture by Doubt, Deny, Delay politics are not so much overblown as outright false; the land area in Australia needed is around 1/3000th of what agriculture uses and, for perspective, the area currently taken by open cut coal mines alone is more that 100% renewable energy would use. RE is going to top out above total requirements, a lot quicker and easier than most people imagine.
And rooftop solar installed at owner expense contributed 15% of Australia's grid electricity last year. Almost entirely from leftover capacity after powering around 1/3rd of households during daytimes. With huge uptake of batteries currently underway existing as well as new solar and wind capacity will be boosted by better utilisation, including overnight.
I have a pair of batteries humming away in my basement which give me peace of mind if I'm away in the winter. The power company is kind enough not to use the power if a storm is coming.
Thank you Bill, I heard your speech at No Kings in person. Powerful with some humor too.
This is all news that needs to get out and thanks to Bill it might. But there is no reason to believe it will make a great difference. It does nothing to break down the behaviors that have created the very problems that new technology is desperately trying to solve. Reliance on fossil fuels? No, the problem is that we will always believe in our ability to ignore natural limits. We will never learn that it's impossible to pursue infinite growth on a planet with finite resources. That's not within the scope of this discussion, but it never warrants a discussion of its own.
You are right, and it is in the scope of this discussion. Mr. McKibben said at the start of his article, "Instead, today, I’m going to talk about what technology can do when we aim not for destruction but for progress."
But you can't separate destruction from traditional economic progress, whether or not the immediate results are seemingly good. And technology will always create a new space for new conflict and expansion.
The problem is not really fossil fuels. It's our craving for endless energy. Ending fossil fuels won't end the destruction. Even endless free, clean energy will just shift the problem to people still having children and fighting over space on this earth, destroying more of it to get more space. And medical technology will just make it easier for them to live on this planet by making them live longer with less diseases, and providing them with antidepressants and other drugs to make life more tolerable. Same with media technology.
Technology is the problem. Technological progress IS destruction, and solving the climate change CO2 problem by itself by creating new technology is simply pushing the main problem farther into the future so that the middle class can breath easier and pretend that they're helping the planet.
Great news - we have solar and a battery and now pay about $15/mo for electricity. Full solar scale up would be incredible for the country especially with an improved grid. Next step is to help poorer countries do the same!!!
We will also need to work more on decarbonization and adaptation to the climate change already happening!
What is your response to concerns that some of the heavy metals needed for producing batteries are provided by child laborers in some African companies. Last estimate I saw was approximately 10% of the materials were gathered this way, despite industry efforts to mitigate this. Is progress being made in this regard?
i wish it was concern about the health of the planet driving these changes rather than cost but I guess we have to accept that most people don't care much for planetary health but do care a lot about the cost of things.
Cant happen fast enough. Without oil, theres no reason to fight over Hormuz. The dinosaurs are forcing one last battle as the meteor hurtles their way.
I'm eager to install batteries to translate our solar power into nighttime energy. But I can't bring myself to give a penny to Tesla. This battery news is promising and inspiring! #Gratitude
Roberta, last year my husband and I installed 8 house batteries made by Enphase that remain charged by our 72 panel solar field and automatically become our sole power source in case of conventional power failure. We’re very pleased with them thus far.
Agree: boycott, divest, sanction Musk products
Sigenergy has an impressive whole home backup battery system. I’ve been very happy with mine after seeking out alternatives to avoid Tesla.
Sigenergy are getting a lot of love here in NZ Dave.
Enphase are great
Generac makes a battery back up as well.
Roberta, I’ve been driving a 2021 Chevy Bolt since buying it new 5 years ago and now it’s got 80,000+ miles. Feels great to be driving an EV that isn’t a Tesla!
Why would you have to give a penny to Tesla? Our batteries aren't Tesla. And our EVs aren't either.
There are plenty of options besides Tesla. Hyundai, KIA, VW, and Toyota are some of the options and you don't have to give a penny to Elon
We sold our Tesla when Musk bought Twitter and I knew I didn’t want any association with his corrupt values. We replaced the Tesla EV with a KIA EV and like it 💯x more. We charge it with the sun and are now contemplating battery options to take the sun’s power into the night. I’m appreciating all the recommendations to power through!
I’m very interested in the bright white solar panel. If it works it would be great for roofs in western cities, where you have a lot of sunlight and a need to cool down roofs.
We need all this good news now, as God's 'chosen people' proceed to turn the sacred creation into living hell. I wish there were many more ways to help people imagine how wonderful it could be to live in a green sustainable world. The best thing about renewables is how distributed they are, and therefore, how democratic. You can't centralize the sun........nor would anyone want to...........and with battery storage coming on so fast.........its not only stupid wars that will end the age of fossil fuels and fools........
It's this rapidly rising New Technology. Thank you Bill, for keeping us up to speed on the future that is possible.
So good to see the battery revolution race ahead!
Thank you Bill, for such an enlightening and optimistic perspective at this time of horrific destruction and consequent focus on fossil fuels dependence … really important news to disseminate! NOW…
I just want to mention that California is the fourth largest economy. Running all day on solar.
In Australia we’re getting offers by energy providers to plug our e-cars at night so they can justify the need for coal burning. Likewise, there is not much discussion about solar and lithium battery disposals and recycling. The energy transition needs a rethought sociotechnical framework instead of using the existing one (cutting corners and burying waste). Not just emergence but future thinking too.
We could bury decades of RE waste in existing coal ash dumps and need a map to ever find it again. And the ongoing risks of toxic leachates will be from the coal ash. The problem wastes from fossil fuels are truly staggering in scale.
Yes, we should always try to do it better - more, better recycling and safe disposal (which isn't being ignored) - but don't let waiting for the perfect be the enemy of good enough or even just better, because sticking with fossil fuels until then only makes things worse.
Also (in a similar vein) the heavily promoted alarmist fears of renewables overwhelming productive agriculture by Doubt, Deny, Delay politics are not so much overblown as outright false; the land area in Australia needed is around 1/3000th of what agriculture uses and, for perspective, the area currently taken by open cut coal mines alone is more that 100% renewable energy would use. RE is going to top out above total requirements, a lot quicker and easier than most people imagine.
And rooftop solar installed at owner expense contributed 15% of Australia's grid electricity last year. Almost entirely from leftover capacity after powering around 1/3rd of households during daytimes. With huge uptake of batteries currently underway existing as well as new solar and wind capacity will be boosted by better utilisation, including overnight.
I have a pair of batteries humming away in my basement which give me peace of mind if I'm away in the winter. The power company is kind enough not to use the power if a storm is coming.
Thank you Bill, I heard your speech at No Kings in person. Powerful with some humor too.
Thank you Bill.
This is all news that needs to get out and thanks to Bill it might. But there is no reason to believe it will make a great difference. It does nothing to break down the behaviors that have created the very problems that new technology is desperately trying to solve. Reliance on fossil fuels? No, the problem is that we will always believe in our ability to ignore natural limits. We will never learn that it's impossible to pursue infinite growth on a planet with finite resources. That's not within the scope of this discussion, but it never warrants a discussion of its own.
You are right, and it is in the scope of this discussion. Mr. McKibben said at the start of his article, "Instead, today, I’m going to talk about what technology can do when we aim not for destruction but for progress."
But you can't separate destruction from traditional economic progress, whether or not the immediate results are seemingly good. And technology will always create a new space for new conflict and expansion.
The problem is not really fossil fuels. It's our craving for endless energy. Ending fossil fuels won't end the destruction. Even endless free, clean energy will just shift the problem to people still having children and fighting over space on this earth, destroying more of it to get more space. And medical technology will just make it easier for them to live on this planet by making them live longer with less diseases, and providing them with antidepressants and other drugs to make life more tolerable. Same with media technology.
Technology is the problem. Technological progress IS destruction, and solving the climate change CO2 problem by itself by creating new technology is simply pushing the main problem farther into the future so that the middle class can breath easier and pretend that they're helping the planet.
I couldn't agree more. You willl probably find this paper from the Royal Society in Britain interesting. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/article/379/1893/20220259/109334/Characteristic-processes-of-human-evolution-caused
Thanks! I read the paper and I'm going to try and interview the authors.
Great news - we have solar and a battery and now pay about $15/mo for electricity. Full solar scale up would be incredible for the country especially with an improved grid. Next step is to help poorer countries do the same!!!
We will also need to work more on decarbonization and adaptation to the climate change already happening!
Lots of great news, my weekly dose of optimism!
What is your response to concerns that some of the heavy metals needed for producing batteries are provided by child laborers in some African companies. Last estimate I saw was approximately 10% of the materials were gathered this way, despite industry efforts to mitigate this. Is progress being made in this regard?
i wish it was concern about the health of the planet driving these changes rather than cost but I guess we have to accept that most people don't care much for planetary health but do care a lot about the cost of things.
The new missile being used in Iran brings to mind the stories about the firebombing of Dresden.
A very high price to pay indeed.
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/slaughterhouse-five-or-the-childrens-crusade-a-duty-dance-with-death-by-kurt-vonnegut/248559/