The world economy has now reached a cusp point where: energy efficiency and the transition to renewables as societies source of energy is being driven by business for profit.
Savvy industrial leaders understand this, embrace it, and are leveraging this business opportunity.
The job skills involved with employment in the fossil fuel energy sector are for the most part the same skills required for employment in the renewable energy sector.
Presently, in the U.S. there are more people employed in (wind and solar) than in all (coal, gas, oil and nuclear) combined.
Pulmonary health cases are linked to the exposure to pollutants such as sulphur and ammonia compound gasses, as well as, particulates and nitrous gasses. The elimination of the burning fossil fuels with these associated pollutants, results in a significant reduction in pulmonary health cases, and their associated health costs.
The climate change mitigation costs associated with: sea level rise; increased temperatures (crop yields, desertification, ocean acidification); and severe weather events are staggering. It is predicted that only the elimination of the burning of fossil fuels with their associated GHG emissions, can arrest these climate change effects.
Since this transition is occurring for profit reasons, these above cost reductions will all “come along for the ride.” No extra expenditures required.
The cost and physical supply of the energy required by an industrial society, is not sustainable using the depleting fossil fuel resources as the form of energy we use to power our future world.
Only wind, water, solar, and geothermal can physically and economically satisfy that mandate.
Therefore, in order to begin reaping the benefits; both, economic (energy costs and jobs), and environmental (health and GHG’s), it is my hope that all of us, including our “leaders,” can embrace, promote and steward the: 100 per cent transition to a renewable energy (electric powered economy/society/world) ASAP.
Richard Kildaw, P. Eng.
Penticton