Ken Silverstein: Transition to clean energy is necessary, popular, doable
- by Omaha.com
- May 10, 2024
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Microsoft has signed a record-breaking deal to invest over $10 billion in renewable energy capacity to power AI technology at data centers.
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The clean energy cause is similar to the one that rural America faced after the Great Depression in the 1930s: As part of the New Deal, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Rural Electrification Administration to bring electricity and economic development to isolated sections of this country.Â
Rural America benefited from forward-thinking policies â the same way the nationâs hardest hit are gradually evolving.Â
For example, Duke Energy is building one of Kentuckyâs most extensive solar arrays â 5,600 photovoltaic panels on the 800,000-square-foot Amazon Air Hub roof. Form Energy is building a battery storage facility in West Virginia that will employ 750 people.Â
âThe people of West Virginia are ahead of their leaders,â says James Van Nostrand, author of âThe Coal Trap.â âThe transition is underway, and we need to get some clean energy jobs out of it. Otherwise, we will go down the drain with coal.â
Climate change is less a partisan issue than it is a generational divide. While some older Americans yearn to return to yesteryear, younger ones are moving forward. They want long-lasting, sustainable jobs that contribute to their quality of life.Â
Some may deride climate change as a hoax. But most of us want to address it. Consider: Canadian authorities just warned of another catastrophic wildfire season â felt by those along the U.S. East Coast last year. More than 6,500 fires burned in Canada in 2023 due to droughts and hotter temperatures.
Moreover, we are losing two ice sheets: Greenland and West Antarctica. Then thereâs the loss of coral reefs. Hundreds of thousands of people depend on them for their livelihoods, not to mention snorkelers. Sea levels have been rising. Â
But donât lose heart. Consumer demand and technical progress have forced the corporate world to respond. Volvo is phasing out the internal combustion engine and making only alternatively fueled cars. Tesla has open-sourced its technology for advanced electric vehicle batteries.Â
Even the most obstinate political leaders will heel â once they realize this is where the votes are.Â
Silverstein writes about energy and the environment for years for InsideSources.com.Â
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