FATAL ADDICTION TO OIL = MORE COSTLY THAN SOLAR

“Why we’re addicted to Fatal Oil, even when Costlier than Solar” by Professor Michael T. Klare at New Hampshire College on Tomdispatch.com July 17, 2016

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Thin Solar film

SOLAR FILM ON EVERY ROOF IN THE WORLD = OIL BECOMES WORTHLESS = NO MORE WARS FOR OIL EXCUSE!

The good news: Wind power + Solar power = Expanding far Faster than Predicted and are NOW CHEAPER THAN OIL IN CERTAIN APPLICATIONS! = DOUBLING CAPACITY WITHIN 25 YEARS

The bad news: OIL & NAT GAS consumption is also growing for decades to come = Accelerating pace of global warming = More climate-change catastrophes.

Renewables = Remarkably today wind & solar are already competitive with fossil fuels for many uses and markets.

ODDLY = Individuals & governments still opt for dirty fuels even with Green having equal economic advantage and causing far less severe planetary harm. = Irrational adiction

2016 edition of the International Energy Outlook = “Renewables are the world’s fastest-growing energy source.” = Wind and solar growth will outpacing every other form of energy = 12% of all energy used in 2012 and 22% by 2040.

SAD FACT: Even in 2040 a staggering 78% of the world energy will be dirt fuels + Total energy consumption will be much greater in 2040 + Oil consumption will increase 34% by 2040 + Natural gas Jump 70% = GREENHOUSE CLIMATE DISASTERS will GROW! = Greenhouse gas up 34% (2012-2040) = Destructive effects – fires, heat waves, floods, droughts, storms, and sea level rise — Intensifying.

Roots of Dirty Fuel Addiction = Built-in momentum of a System constructed around fossil fuel-powered energy. = Most electricity is coal- and gas-fired power plants = Supplies 56% of world’s electrical power by 2040. + Most Cars & trucks fueled by gas & diesel = NOT ELECTRIC = Transitions from one form of energy to another take time.

ROOTS OF DIRTY ADDICTION = Vested interests in Dirty Energy = Largest, most lucrative business in the world = Privileged status as among the world’s most valuable enterprises = NOT ABOUT to surrender their massive profits to same some PLANET! = Will employ any means at their disposal (BRIBERY included) to slow transition to GREEN! = Politicians bribed by coal-producers will block the Obama’s “clean power” drive to reduce coal consumption.

EXXON = BRIBED GOP officials to SLOW WALK state attorney generals investigating of suppression of information on the links between fossil fuel use and climate change.

SAD FACT: Most increases in demand for DIRTY FUELS = Developing world with hundreds of millions of people entering the middle class and buying their first gas-powered cars. = China’s use will grow 57% (2012-2040) and India even faster growth at 131%!

SAD FACT: AMERICANS love for sport utility vehicles = 75% of the people who traded in a hybrid or electric car replaced it with an all-gas car including SUVs or pickups.

ASIA favors adding Coal electricity capacity = CHEAP

India = Coal consumption will grow by 62% mostly for electricity generation

NAT GAS = Mammoth Growth = Experience the biggest absolute increase of any fuel. = New generating plants are cheap to build and pricing and high fuel efficiency sell plants with less carbon dioxide emissions. = BUT natural gas remains a carbon-based global greenhouse gas emissions problem.

SOLUTIONS = Since Addiction is a big part of the problem it requires a treatment tackling addictive behavior at its roots and promoting lasting changes in lifestyle. Anti-smoking efforts began in the medical community by banning smoking in hospitals and other medical facilities and GREW FROM THERE to even include warning labels displayed in tobacco advertising and cigarette packaging.

SOLUTION = College campuses and town centers could, for instance, be declared car-free like London’s newly elected mayor, Sadiq Khan + Express lanes reserved for hybrids, electric cars, and other alternative vehicles. + Gas stations might display warning signs, “Notice: consumption of this product increases your exposure to asthma, heat waves, sea level rise, and other threats to public health.”

SOLUTION = Measures to combat the excessive influence of the fossil fuel companies and energy states = STOP BRIBERY OF POLITICIANS like Bernie Sanders advocates. + Hold giant energy companies (Exxon) accountable for health and planet survival impacts like tobacco companies.

FACT: Without similar efforts on a global SCALE the future projected by the EIA = Human suffering of a previously unimaginable sort will be the order of the day.