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by seb1204 991 days ago
It is not. Proper waste disposal is an unsolved issue that extends beyond so many human generations. Also I suspect that social licence and NIMBYism will make it impossible to build them in time to save us from global warming.
1 comments
margalabargala 991 days ago
Based on the conclusions in this comment thread, any energy source more exotic than a wood campfire is unacceptably damaging.
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badtension 991 days ago
I get the joke but let me just mention that wood campfire is one of the worst solutions (if done at scale). This may sound idealistic (like the other comments mentioned) but I think we just have to reduce our energy footprint and then many solutions will be green again.

One great example (some will say absurd and impractical) is just using energy whenever it is available, with minimum storage. That means cooking, heating water etc. during the day (or when the wind is high) and only using lighting and low-energy devices at night. Factories could work on a similar principle (producing more in the summer) but then we would have to rearrange a lot more stuff to suit the seasonal renewable energy production capabilities.

This may sound absurd but it only shows how much we are locked in our way of thinking about how reality is supposed to work, not what it is. There's no reason to have high quality on-demand electrical energy available 24/7/365 other than convenience. Convenience that fossil fuels brought us.

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margalabargala 991 days ago
What sort of onboarding path do you see to get a majority of the energy consumers (both the populace and industry) willing to accept this? How could the public will to make that change be created?

This feels like about as useful a solution as saying "the US could balance their budget by simply disbanding their military". Would it work if implemented? Sure. Would the resulting world be arguably better than before? Quite possibly. Is there a path to that outcome from the present day with a nonzero chance of success? Well...

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badtension 990 days ago
Dynamic energy pricing with smart power-hungry appliances controlled by the energy producer would be a great start.
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