Must-Read Google Plan

We have lamented before about the depressing lack of urgency in the U.S. (and elsewhere, but especially in the U.S.) toward finding solutions for global warming and climate change that will stave off the worst outcomes.

To do that, we'd likely have to keep CO2 from topping 450 ppm (parts per million), or at least manage to bring it back down to 450 fairly soon after the level exceeds that (it's about 387 now, and climbing).

Is this politically possible? Probably not, says climate expert Joseph Romm:

No, 450 is not politically possible today. Nor is 550. Nor is action sufficient to stave off 1000 ppm and 6°C warming.

Imagine 6°C warming (which is 11°F) by the end of this century. Have you any idea what that would mean in terms of sea level rise, killer storms, floods, droughts, crop failure, starvation, refugee migration, disease vectors, and causes for war?

This is what we're headed for if we continue "business as usual" and don't make the substantial changes necessary to avoid 1000 ppm by 2100.

Some people are looking for solutions. Fortunately, one such group -- Google -- has deep pockets and a high-visibility podium from which to speak.

Take a look at Google's impressive recent proposal for Clean Energy 2030...

Over 22 years this plan could generate billions of dollars in savings and help create millions of green jobs. Many of these high quality, good-paying jobs will be in today's coal and oil producing states.
 
To get there we need to move immediately on three fronts:

1. Reduce demand by doing more with less
2. Develop renewable energy that is cheaper than coal
3. Electrify transportation and re-invent our electric grid

None of this will be easy, of course, but with Google's backing, it just might be possible. We'd better hope so.

Finally, note that Google's plan does not rely on any exotic new technologies like molecular manufacturing (MM). Of course, if MM is developed before 203o, which we think is a near certainty, then it could make a big difference in moving faster toward sustainable electricity generation from solar, wind, and other sources.

But the danger of waiting for MM, AI, or any other super tech to save us is simply too great. It's impossible to say at this point how much those new developments will be able to do, and how quickly, especially if the accelerating feedback cycle of global warming has raced out of control before then. We must begin immediately.

Mike Treder