A study published by Energy Policy claimed that the entire world could move entirely off fossil fuels and use entirely renewable sources by 2030.
According to the study this would require the building of 1.7 billion solar energy roof panels, approximately 90,000 solar power plants, 5 MW wind turbines, and the use of geothermal and wave powered energy.
All of these technologies are currently in use, though the majority of the world's power is still carbon-based.
Current infrastructure and laws place renewable energy no where near the level of priority required for this all to take place in the next 19 years, though changes in China, the US, and throughout Europe are occurring. The EU's current goal is to have a mandatory 20% renewable by 2020. While admirable, it doesn't place us near this calculation.
I suppose my thought on all of this is that while this would be a HUGE step forward, it doesn't come near to restoring the Earth. While ceasing to add crap to our system is great, it still doesn't remove the crap we've already dumped. I feel that too much of the environmental movement gets focused on high-tech solutions in the future and not enough on working with what we have.
Thoughts?
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