HOT GLOBE: I'm here with Mark Jacobson of Stanford University. “No miracles needed.” That's the name of his latest book, and it's great. Exactly which miracles are not needed, Mark?
JACOBSON: Well, we do not need carbon capture, direct air capture, blue hydrogen, electrofuels, small modular nuclear reactors, new large reactors, bioenergy, geo-engineering. These are all technologies that are constructs of either the fossil fuel, nuclear or agricultural industries to try to play a role in climate change mitigation, but which actually make the problems worse, either due to the low efficiency, the high emissions of air pollutant particles and gases, the long time between planning and operation in the case of nuclear, for example, the high costs in the case of nuclear and carbon capture, for example. There are multiple risks associated with several of these technologies that are beyond climate and air pollution risks.
We have the technologies we need to solve the problems the world faces in terms of air pollution, global warming and energy security. That's clean, renewable wind, water, solar power powering electric vehicles, electric heat pumps for air and water, heating and air-conditioning and buildings, electric induction cooktops, and electrified industry. Arc furnaces, induction furnaces, resistance furnaces. We have the storage. We need batteries for electricity storage. Some grid hydrogen storage for electricity storage.
We have hot water, cold water, firebricks for high temperature heat for industrial processes. We have also hydrogen that can be stored for use in steel manufacturing and ammonia production. So we have the technologies we need.
The technologies that I listed at first we do not need because they're not helpful and there are opportunity costs. But if we do transition to 100% clean, renewable energy and storage across all energy sectors for everything, our energy requirements will decrease by about 55%. Our cost of energy, our annual cost of energy that will pay individually will go down about 60%. And the social cost of energy, which is the energy cost, the health cost and climate cost associated with energy, will go down over 90%.
There's really little downside. We reduce costs, reduce health problems, reduce climate problems. The land requirement is less than what we have with the fossil fuel system, and we'll create millions and millions of jobs worldwide more than are lost.
So we have the solutions right in front of us. The key is to deploy, deploy, deploy as fast as possible.
And here today is the proof of the pudding, from Jacobson. California is leaping ahead in dumping fossil gas use, see the post on the platform “X” of Donald Trump’s proposed efficiency czar Elon Musk (of all people and places,) for the six-month period up to today, September 4, which is why as
points out, fossil fuel forces and DJ Trump are “freaking out” about the election:HOT GLOBE: Well, that sounds excitingly hopeful. Mark. Why aren't we doing that, in a word?
JACOBSON: Well, we are doing it but slower than we should be. China this year is actually adding about 340GW of wind and solar, which is ten times more than the United States is adding. That's equivalent of seven, almost seven gigawatts a week. That's like one nuclear reactor worth of solar and wind every day. And so they are growing, as is the rest of the world. But we do have a long way to go. The world, if we increase at the rate of last year's increase of renewables worldwide, which is on the order of, I think, 14% by 2041, 2042. We should be 100% renewables for all energy sectors, so whether we can keep up that pace of renewable growth is a different question. But we need not only renewables, electricity generation, we need storage. We need electrification of technologies like electric vehicles, electric heat pumps, electric industry and transmission distribution.
And we need the willpower of the people to do this.
HOT GLOBE: Awesome. #
The full, fun, short! interview here:
And for a detailed Wonkfest™ video of Jacobson’s views provided by the Samuel Lawrence Foundation a year ago—very prescient!—follow this link: