by Doug Casey, International Man:
International Man: Governments worldwide have spent over $5 trillion in the past two decades to subsidize wind, solar, and other so-called renewables.
However, even with that astronomical financial support, the world still depends on hydrocarbons for 84% of its energy needs—down only 2% since governments started binge spending on renewables 20 years ago.
What is really going on here?
Doug Casey: It’s essentially the triumph of pseudoscience and aberrant psychology over physics and critical thinking.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
The Greens, who have pushed all this through, say they love the Earth and want to “save” it. But in fact, they mostly just hate people. It’s not only a question of forcing the adoption of uneconomic power sources. Many of the same people have said they’re interested in reducing the Earth’s population by 50 to 90%. The idea is not to increase people’s standard of living but simply to reduce their consumption and perhaps their numbers.
It’s a consequence of Leftists having captured the world’s school systems over the last several generations. Professors, who are in a position of authority, indoctrinate the kids. And the kids talk to each other within the academic bubble and feel that what they’ve been told is fact, as opposed to opinion. Their feelings are reinforced by what they hear from the media and the government.
Wind and solar are fine for selected uses, special situations, and isolated environments. But they make no sense as a form of mass power generation for an industrial society. Not only are they extremely costly to build and run, but the power that they produce is intermittent and unreliable. They require huge and uneconomic investment in battery technologies or the maintenance of conventional hydrocarbon power plants for when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining. Which is most of the time…
International Man: Even with enormous government support, electric vehicles (EVs) can barely compete with gasoline vehicles.
According to J.D. Power, a consumer research firm, the average EV still costs at least 21% more than the average gasoline vehicle, even with government support. President Trump has promised that he will end subsidies for EVs.
Can EVs compete with gasoline vehicles on a level playing field?
Doug Casey: First, let me say that the government shouldn’t subsidize anything. They create distortions in the market, resulting in misallocations of capital. The result is that a few politically protected types benefit while the overall wealth of the society declines.
I don’t have anything against EVs. They can be much faster and handle much better than gas vehicles. For selected uses, such as within cities, where EVs can be charged easily, they certainly have a place in the automotive ecosystem. And over time, EV batteries will improve, giving them lower costs, better performance, lower weight, and longer range.
But internal combustion engines are constantly becoming more efficient as well. Deciding the most economic and generally satisfactory technology should be up to the producers and the users, not bureaucrats. It’s a matter for physics, not politics, to determine.
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