April 3, 2019

We’re GOING to make the transition to renewable sources of energy. There is no scenario outside the dark mind of Dick Cheney where we continue to use depleting and polluting fossil fuels over the long run to power society. So how exactly are we going to make the transition? In this episode, Jason, Rob, and Asher talk about some of the magical “solutions” that are being peddled out on the streets of Crazy Town (solar roadways, anyone?!?) and why we’re so quick to jump at technological fixes that ignore math, physics, and ecology.

Click here to go back to the Crazy Town home page.

Show Notes

• Over-the-top solar roadways promo video
• A reality check on solar roadways
• Solar roadways experiment in France
• Our Renewable Future, which outlines the criteria needed to evaluate energy sources and explains why renewable sources won’t match the scale of fossil fuels
• Why less energy means a smaller economy
• Why “green” growth amounts to wishful thinking
• The famous Sankey diagram on energy flows
• Background on the Green New Deal
• Global energy consumption (100 billion barrels of oil equivalent)
• Tom Murphy’s explanation of galactic-scale energy