The World Needs More Than Intermittent Electricity From Wind And Solar – OpEd
By Ronald Stein
Wind and solar manufacture nothing for the eight billion on this planet as they can only generate intermittent electricity from unreliable breezes and sunshine.
The transition to occasional electricity generation from breezes and sunshine has proven to be ultra-expensive for the wealthy countries of Germany, Australia, Great Britain, and the USA representing 6 percent of the world’s population (508 million vs 8 billion).
Those four wealthy countries now have among the highest cost for their electricity, while the poorer developing countries, currently without the usage of the 20th century products made from the oil derivatives manufactured from crude oil, are experiencing about 11,000,000 child deaths every year due to the unavailability of the fossil fuel products used in wealthy countries.
However, ridding the world of oil, without a replacement in mind, would be immoral and evil, as extreme shortages of the products now manufactured from fossil fuels will result in billions of fatalities from diseases, malnutrition, and weather-related deaths, and could be the greatest threat to the world’s population.
When we look outside the few wealthy countries, we see that almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. and billions living with little to no access to electricity, while politicians in wealthy countries are pursuing the most expensive ways to generate intermittent electricity.
Wind turbines and solar panels cannot manufacture any oil derivatives to make thousands of products such as:
- Tires for the billions of vehicles.
- Asphalt for the millions of miles of roadways.
- Medical equipment, medications, and vaccines.
- Communication and electronic systems, including cell phones, computers, iPhones, and iPads.
- Water filtration systems.
- Sanitation systems.
- Fertilizers that come from natural gas to help feed billions.
- Pesticides to control locusts and other pests.
- Wind turbines and solar panels, as their components are all made with products from fossil fuels
The Swedish teenage activist Greta Thunberg is emphatically finger-pointing, scapegoating, and complaining in the popular mass-media that our recent lifestyle trends are destroying the planet for her generation and future gens, but she may be out of touch with the elephant in the room, the mirror on the wall.
Greta Thunberg is not yet cognizant of the limitations of solar panels and wind turbines. Those renewables of wind and solar only generate occasional electricity but are incapable of manufacturing anything for society.
Greta is not cognizant that the planet populated from 1 to 8 billion in less than two hundred years, and that population explosion began right after the discovery of oil. That growth in the population was not just based on crude oil itself, as crude oil is useless until it can be manufactured into something useable.
An easy observation is everything that needs electricity is made with the oil derivatives manufactured from crude oil inclusive of all electronics, all medical supplies, and all communications.
In the United States today, there are roughly 30 million children in the age group of 5-11 years of age that need to question and think critically based upon science-based reasoning.
Today, through human ingenuity, we have manufactured that useless crude oil into more than 6,000 products that are currently benefiting society, and the fuels for :
- The 50,000 heavy-weight and long-range merchant ships that are moving products throughout the world.
- The 50,000 heavy-weight and long-range jets used by commercial airlines, private usage, and the military.
But ridding the world of oil, without a replacement in mind, would be immoral and evil, as extreme shortages of the products manufactured from fossil fuels will result in billions of fatalities from diseases, malnutrition, and weather-related deaths, and could be the greatest threat to the planet’s eight billion residents.
Life Without Oil is NOT AS SIMPLE AS YOU MAY THINK as NEITHER wind turbines nor solar panels can manufacture anything for society from the intermittent electricity generated from breezes and sunshine
Severe weather-related deaths have declined nearly 99 percent since the early 1900’s due to the vast array of products now made with the oil derivatives manufactured out of crude oil.
Shortages of fossil fuel products would necessitate lifestyles being mandated back to the horse and buggy days of the 1800’s and could be the greatest threat to the planet’s eight billion residents.
Few are aware that there are NO backup plans to replace the more than 6,000 products for society, as well as manufacturing the fuels for 50,000 jets moving people and products, and more than 50,000 merchant ships for global trade flows, and the military and space programs that are all based on derivatives manufactured from crude oil.
- Intermittent electricity from wind and solar are incapable of manufacturing anything!
- 8 billion people are populating the world based upon what is manufactured from crude oil.
It is a case of outsmarting ourselves to our detriment. It seems like no one understands that the world needs more than intermittent electricity from wind and solar.
To live and thrive in a healthy socioeconomic system, the world needs products that are currently made from fossil fuels, that did not exist a few centuries ago to support modern life.
Without a replacement, curtaining fossil fuel sources and manufacturing is the kiss of death for America and the World.