Renewable energy not 'silver bullet': Shell chief - AFP

[Eugene]

Source: Agence France-Presse

Renewable energy not 'silver bullet': Shell chief

37 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) - Renewable energy will not provide the "silver
bullet" that will fulfill the world's energy needs, and greater
focus must be placed on energy efficiency, Shell's chief
executive wrote in a comment piece published Monday.

Writing in The Times, Jeroen van der Veer said that in terms of
future energy needs, "the world needs a reality check" and will
need to face three difficult truths.

In his estimation, those truths are that demand is accelerating,
the growth of easily-extracted fossil fuels will not keep up with
that acceleration in demand, and increased use of coal will lead
to higher carbon emissions, possibly to levels that the world
does not consider acceptable.

Van der Veer wrote that "taking the CO2 out of fossil fuels,
especially coal, is crucial."

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070625/wl_uk_afp/britainnetherlands

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Source: The Times

June 25, 2007

High hopes and hard truths dictate future

Efforts to fight global warming will be wasted unless we
concentrate on energy efficiency

Jeroen van der Veer

When it comes to the future of energy, the world needs a reality
check. Contrary to public perceptions, renewable energy is not the
silver bullet that will soon solve all our problems. Indeed, in the
decades ahead, three hard truths will generate turbulence in the
global energy system.

We all know that global demand for energy is growing, but the reality
of how fast hasn’t really sunk in. The first hard truth is that demand
is accelerating. Energy use in 2050 may be twice as high as it is today,
or higher still. The main causes are population growth, from six to more
than nine billion people, and higher levels of prosperity. China and India
are entering the energy-intensive phase of their development. This
is the point when people buy their first television or car, or board a
plane for the first time, and start to consume much more transport fuel
and electricity. And most people in China and India have never boarded
a plane yet! The pace of change is startling. Last year, China enlarged
its electricity capacity by roughly the equivalent of Great Britain’s
entire stock of power stations.

The second hard truth is that the growth rate of supplies of “easy oil”,
conventional oil and natural gas that are relatively easy to extract,
will struggle to keep up with accelerating demand. ...

-snip-

Read more: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article1980585.ece

[w4rma]

1. Big oil has always lobbied heavily against implimenting energy efficiency regulations. (nt)

[krispos42]

2. And to help motivate us to increase efficiency, Big Oil is doubling prices

Big Oil regrets having to to treat us this way, but it's for our own good, really.

Asshats.

The 'silver bullet' is nuclear fucking fusion. Research for which the GOP happily cut back in 1995 once the took the Congress over. Fucking Newt Gingrinch and pals.

[4dsc]

3. Peak oil is a liquid fuel problem

Jeroen van der Veer so "gets" it about the real world.. We are facing tough times ahead but most people in the US continue to believe in these so called "renewables" because the irresponsible press and leaders who don't want to make the hard decisions!!