• G7 leaders agree to completely phase out fossil fuels by the end of the century
    57 replies, posted
[QUOTE=SHIG;47907791]Phase out? You mean run out. Our fossil fuel reserves are expected to be depleted by the turn of the next century.[/QUOTE] You mean that we can access right now? Because there's shittons that we don't currently have a good way to get at. And probably just shouldn't.
[QUOTE=AkujiTheSniper;47907219]We'll create jobs, produce clean energy and get more Americans exercising with this new source of power! [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/FhI1Lla.png[/IMG][/QUOTE] But what happens if your toe goes through one of the gaps?
Way, way, way, waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too late. What a gigantic letdown.
Well, when the ecology is going to shit all around them in their homelands, I guess the decision to wait will seem quite stupid after the fact... But that's the power of hindsight for ya. On the other hand, hopefully this'll encourage more use of nuclear and electric power systems (smart grids, reactors to power major cities so they're more self-sufficient, all-electric cars, etc.)
[QUOTE=SHIG;47907791]Phase out? You mean run out. Our fossil fuel reserves are expected to be depleted by the turn of the next century.[/QUOTE] Nah, there's over a century's worth of oil and gas in Alaska alone.
wow... well done...
just think how long the industrial revolution took for one country alone, and global populations literally doubled and tripled in some countries as a result. 85 years sounds reasonable when you actually think about it. the leaders[URL="http://facepunch.com/#64326448"] agreed[IMG]http://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png[/IMG][/URL] to “decarbonise the global economy in the course of this century”. this is a profound statement to make and no one actually saw this coming. the global temperature will also be capped at 2C and that will hold the G7 nations[URL="http://facepunch.com/#11899921"] accountable[IMG]http://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png[/IMG][/URL] and will be a wonderful[URL="http://facepunch.com/#12194492"] step[IMG]http://cdncache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png[/IMG][/URL] forward for the world. i want to believe
It's not like we're going to continue at current rates then dead stop in 85 years. If you think we can get [i]entirely off fossil fuels[/i] in less time, you're understating the enormity of the industry. If you think we can dead stop fossil fuels in a decade or two you're delusional. We need to rebuild the entire world power grid, design and build electric trains, cars, ships, planes, farm equipment. We need to retrain millions of people. We need to invent better batteries, better solar panels, better nuclear power. We need to invent a way to make synthetic plastics on a wide scale and then phase out and replace everything in the world with all off this. It's going to take time.
[QUOTE=Rents;47908245]But what happens if your toe goes through one of the gaps?[/QUOTE] Gymnastic meltdown
[QUOTE=Rapscallion92;47906999]WOW GUYS. BY 2100 WE'LL BE USING ONLY CLEAN POWER. IT'S A FUCKING SHAME THAT IF WE DON'T DO IT BY 2050 WE'LL BE FUCKED ANYWAY. Oh man at this point I wish a fucking comet would smash Earths fucking back doors in so we could either all die together on this piece of shit rock with our piece of shit species, or at least maybe let something else evolve and have a shot because if this is the best action we can agree upon we're completely and utterly fucked.[/QUOTE] A little too edgy.
I would think that energy companies in particular would be wanting to invest in and develop clean energy methods for them to utilize when fossil fuels become less viable. You know, preparation for change? Obviously it doesn't help industries that utilize fossil fuels for non energy related purposes though. But less for me is more for my neighbor I suppose.
[QUOTE=Rapscallion92;47906999]WOW GUYS. BY 2100 WE'LL BE USING ONLY CLEAN POWER. IT'S A FUCKING SHAME THAT IF WE DON'T DO IT BY 2050 WE'LL BE FUCKED ANYWAY. Oh man at this point I wish a fucking comet would smash Earths fucking back doors in so we could either all die together on this piece of shit rock with our piece of shit species, or at least maybe let something else evolve and have a shot because if this is the best action we can agree upon we're completely and utterly fucked.[/QUOTE] Jesus christ you're the edgiest motherfucker I've ever seen.
Global temperatures capped at a 2C rise while we do nothing to prevent more than that? What are they going to do? Sanction the atmosphere?
I don't care when we do it, just start doing it. Who knows, in ten years we may find some technology that allows us to completely phase out fossil fuels in half the predicted time. We just gotta start, really start, trying.
i kinda do care when they do it
[QUOTE=OvB;47908541]It's not like we're going to continue at current rates then dead stop in 85 years. If you think we can get [i]entirely off fossil fuels[/i] in less time, you're understating the enormity of the industry. If you think we can dead stop fossil fuels in a decade or two you're delusional. We need to rebuild the entire world power grid, design and build electric trains, cars, ships, planes, farm equipment. We need to retrain millions of people. We need to invent better batteries, better solar panels, better nuclear power. We need to invent a way to make synthetic plastics on a wide scale and then phase out and replace everything in the world with all off this. It's going to take time.[/QUOTE] And you've got to do all that without crashing the economy and fucking up everything
[QUOTE=Cows Rule;47909075]I would think that energy companies in particular would be wanting to invest in and develop clean energy methods for them to utilize when fossil fuels become less viable. You know, preparation for change? Obviously it doesn't help industries that utilize fossil fuels for non energy related purposes though. But less for me is more for my neighbor I suppose.[/QUOTE] Energy companies do invest in clean energy, they aren't silly. I know that my electricity provider does, at least. It makes sense, and even insurance companies account for climate change.
Aren't most fossil fuels estimated to run out by 2100 anyway? This is basically saying "we'll stop when there's none left".
[QUOTE=Zeke129;47911171]Aren't most fossil fuels estimated to run out by 2100 anyway? This is basically saying "we'll stop when there's none left".[/QUOTE] They'll never run out, they'll only become uneconomical. Like, it would be perfectly reasonable that in a hundred years time there will still be road cars with petrol V8 engines, but the only people who would be able to afford them would be millionaires (well, given inflation it would be more likely to be billionaires or trillionaires in a hundred years). Clean energies may still be more-expensive per unit of output compared to dirty energies today, but there will be a point in the future when clean energies will become cheaper.
I hope the next president of the us also agrees to this
[QUOTE=OvB;47908541]It's not like we're going to continue at current rates then dead stop in 85 years. If you think we can get [i]entirely off fossil fuels[/i] in less time, you're understating the enormity of the industry. If you think we can dead stop fossil fuels in a decade or two you're delusional. We need to rebuild the entire world power grid, design and build electric trains, cars, ships, planes, farm equipment. We need to retrain millions of people. We need to invent better batteries, better solar panels, better nuclear power. We need to invent a way to make synthetic plastics on a wide scale and then phase out and replace everything in the world with all off this. It's going to take time.[/QUOTE] There's a lot to do but there's a lot of engineers in the world, and these things happen in parallel Also why do you feel we would need to rebuild the entire power grid? It is continually evolving as it is
It's not like we have any more than 100 years of fossil fuels left anyway [editline]9th June 2015[/editline] Actually with increasing demands , maybe even less so. This is both environmental and economic stability
[QUOTE=OvB;47908541]It's not like we're going to continue at current rates then dead stop in 85 years. If you think we can get [i]entirely off fossil fuels[/i] in less time, you're understating the enormity of the industry. If you think we can dead stop fossil fuels in a decade or two you're delusional. We need to rebuild the entire world power grid, design and build electric trains, cars, ships, planes, farm equipment. We need to retrain millions of people. We need to invent better batteries, better solar panels, better nuclear power. We need to invent a way to make synthetic plastics on a wide scale and then phase out and replace everything in the world with all off this. It's going to take time.[/QUOTE] After Fukushima a bunch of countries are scared of nuclear for some reason. With big countries like Japan and Germany announcing to phase it out entirely. If this mindset keeps up we will have to rely on renewable sources to pick up the slack, which has its own issues like storing the excess energy from solar. Cars take a long time to replace even if the production changed to electric cars only right now, people would be holding onto petrol cars for 20+ years.
[QUOTE=Rapscallion92;47906999]WOW GUYS. BY 2100 WE'LL BE USING ONLY CLEAN POWER. IT'S A FUCKING SHAME THAT IF WE DON'T DO IT BY 2050 WE'LL BE FUCKED ANYWAY. Oh man at this point I wish a fucking comet would smash Earths fucking back doors in so we could either all die together on this piece of shit rock with our piece of shit species, or at least maybe let something else evolve and have a shot because if this is the best action we can agree upon we're completely and utterly fucked.[/QUOTE] We have to be carbon neutral by 2050 mate calm your tits lad. [editline]9th June 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Morgen;47914332]After Fukushima a bunch of countries are scared of nuclear for some reason. With big countries like Japan and Germany announcing to phase it out entirely. If this mindset keeps up we will have to rely on renewable sources to pick up the slack, which has its own issues like storing the excess energy from solar. Cars take a long time to replace even if the production changed to electric cars only right now, people would be holding onto petrol cars for 20+ years.[/QUOTE] It's the old perceived risk actual risk thing. People die in a huge nuclear explosion as opposed to years from now of lung cancer or starvation. People are scared of a big plane crash not the greater risk everyday in a car.
Don't fossil-fuels-running-out projections assume that current rates of use will continue? If the G7 cuts its use by 50% by 2050, as they've agreed to do, that date will move considerably further further back
[QUOTE=Llamalord;47906775]So 85 years from now? Wow so progressive.[/QUOTE] I agree. If it isn't instantaneous, it isn't worth doing. Why even try? We should be trying to do this in 5 years maximum, no exceptions. 150 years of complete reliance means nothing, this is my generation, every other one before my was wrong and I am right. You're fucking retarded.
I feel like winding down the usage of fossil fuels by 2035 is a realistic goal. That's twenty years for most nations on Earth to develop new eco-friendly power plants and vehicles, give or take a few third world hellholes like Somalia or North Korea. Even then, I see it as the duty of rich nations to help out poor nations. Not because it's charitable, but because it's the right thing to do.
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