Fight Back Against the Fossil Fuels
Autocrats: Electrify & Decarbonize!
For too
long, I think, we’ve seen that one of the many downsides to our
reliance on fossil fuels is that it empowers autocrats in petrostates
to spread chaos at home and across the world. It’s time to Electrify &
Decarbonize.
From
Venezuela
to
Nigeria
to Saudi Arabia to most recently (and blatantly!) Russia, we’ve
witnessed how the dynamics of fossil fuel production and dependency
harm both the countries that possess them (through the aptly named “resource
curse”) as well as other
countries that are held hostage to the whims of despotic leaders.
Solar panels could be the victory
bonds of the current Russia/Ukraine conflict. Image from Joe Wachunas.
Electrify & Decarbonize
Not only
does our fossil fuel dependence line the pockets, and buy the weapons
to prop up and now expand dictatorships, but it also hamstrings
democracies in their response to petrostate agressions. This last
point was evidenced by the Biden Administration’s recent decision
not to sanction
Russia’s oil and gas sector because of fears that it would rock energy
markets and raise the already high price of fossil fuel at home and
with important allies in Europe.
If
climate change, and its ever scarier consequences, weren’t a big
enough reason to get off the fossil sauce, Vladimir Putin’s
recognition of the power he holds over an addicted world should do the
trick.
Luckily
there’s a solution that’s rapidly advancing, and individuals can help
to accelerate it: produce
electricity exclusively with renewable energy and then electrify
everything.
Renewable
electricity production is following an
s-curve, exponential growth
trajectory and alone holds the potential to both eliminate emissions
of planet-baking carbon dioxide and methane and
provide a homegrown, distributed,
price-insulated energy system that will end the lose-lose dynamics of
petro-state power. Wind and solar power are available in virtually
every region and country in the world and the costs of generation are
plummeting. Electricity is also subject to less price volatility than
fossil fuels because there are so many ways to produce it. Like all
good investments, it’s diversified.
Comparison of price volatility
of electricity and natural gas in the United States. Graph courtesy of
RMI.
As we
phase out coal and natural gas, a diverse mix of renewable fuels —
from wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, hydro, some nuclear, and
emerging
technologies like wave and tidal — mean the clean energy sources
of the 21st century will not be concentrated in the hands of a few,
but distributed to benefit many. This even includes individuals who
can themselves produce the very energy their homes and vehicles need
to operate. Renewable energy is the ultimate form of energy
independence and energy democracy.
Electrifying buildings with heat pumps and electrifying transportation
with electric cars, bikes, and trucks will
reduce our energy needs by half
simply because new electric technologies are so efficient. They also
provide better heating, cooling, and vehicle performance than their
fossil fueled counterparts. And this isn’t some far off dream. We can
power our buildings and transportation today without petrostate fossil
fuels. Much of the electricity needed to power our buildings and
vehicles already comes from clean, local sources and this trend
accelerates as new renewable generation is added to the grid. This
means that electric solutions produce far fewer emissions than fossil
fuel-powered devices today and will approach zero emissions as the
grid transitions to all renewable energy.
All electric
homes powered by renewable energy will eliminate emissions and end the
petro-state power dynamics. Image courtesy of Eli Spevak.
So this
week, while we watch a fossil-fueled madman invade a sovereign nation
with tanks and helicopters paid for by the proceeds of gas pumps and
gas furnaces, let’s double down on electrification and renewable
energy. Whether you’re directly consuming Russian natural gas or
burning gasoline that keeps the world locked into a nightmare of
pollution and petrostate bullies, there is something we can all
proactively do.
By
buying solar panels
and
electric cars,
investing in
community solar,
and
installing heat pump furnaces,
heat pump water heaters
and
induction stoves,
we can do our democratic, patriotic, and climatic duty to reduce our
dependence on corrupt petro-states that hold so much power over the
world, while fighting the climate crisis at the same time.
Green Play Ammonia™, Yielder® NFuel Energy.
Spokane, Washington. 99212
www.exactrix.com
509 995 1879 cell, Pacific.
Nathan1@greenplayammonia.com
exactrix@exactrix.com
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