I inadvertently came across another stark example of anti-knowledge in action, via the report and presentation by Prof. Simon Michaux of the Geological Survey of Finland. He simply added up all the minerals and metals which will be needed to replace all fossil fuel plants with renewable energy, wind turbines and solar panels, and replace…
I inadvertently came across another stark example of anti-knowledge in action, via the report and presentation by Prof. Simon Michaux of the Geological Survey of Finland. He simply added up all the minerals and metals which will be needed to replace all fossil fuel plants with renewable energy, wind turbines and solar panels, and replace the vehicle pool with electric cars. It seems that none of the technocrats planning the laudable goal of phasing out fossil fuels thought to do these basic sums [and so, it turns out, have been operating on anti-knowledge].
Michaux's findings are stark, and a little frightening, but point to the dream of net zero/green revolution in its current form being highly unrealistic - impossible, in fact.
According to his sums, for the first generation of renewable energy infrastructure, we would need 4.5 trillion tonnes of copper, which at todays rate of extraction, would take 190 years to mine from out of the ground. Of course, we could vastly increase our copper mining activities, at the expense of burning much more fossil fuels and significantly increasing mining pollution, but even if we did that, the known reserves of all the copper in the world amount to 800 billion tonnes, i.e. 20% of the total needed. Even then, this first generation of renewable infrastructure would need replacing in 20 years.
Michaux goes on to do the same sums for all the other metals and minerals needed, e.g. Nickel: 940 billion tonnes, which would take 400 years at current mining rates, and the world only contains 10% of this amount, or Lithium: 944 billions tonnes, which would take 10,000 years to mine, and the world only contains 2% of this amount.
As far as I know, no-one has been able to dispute Michaux's figures, and he would need to be many orders of magnitude wrong for the renewables solution to become workable (if anyone does know of alternative analysis, I would certainly like the reassurance that things aren't as bad as Michaux's report indicates).
What was very clear from his presentation is that our glorious technocratic leaders are operating on anti-knowledge, and had never even thought to do the back-of-the-envelope sums in the first place, let alone done them. I am afraid they are likely to drive us off a cliff in their steadfast pursuit of a solution which appears to be a pipe dream, based on wishful and magical thinking
I inadvertently came across another stark example of anti-knowledge in action, via the report and presentation by Prof. Simon Michaux of the Geological Survey of Finland. He simply added up all the minerals and metals which will be needed to replace all fossil fuel plants with renewable energy, wind turbines and solar panels, and replace the vehicle pool with electric cars. It seems that none of the technocrats planning the laudable goal of phasing out fossil fuels thought to do these basic sums [and so, it turns out, have been operating on anti-knowledge].
Michaux's findings are stark, and a little frightening, but point to the dream of net zero/green revolution in its current form being highly unrealistic - impossible, in fact.
According to his sums, for the first generation of renewable energy infrastructure, we would need 4.5 trillion tonnes of copper, which at todays rate of extraction, would take 190 years to mine from out of the ground. Of course, we could vastly increase our copper mining activities, at the expense of burning much more fossil fuels and significantly increasing mining pollution, but even if we did that, the known reserves of all the copper in the world amount to 800 billion tonnes, i.e. 20% of the total needed. Even then, this first generation of renewable infrastructure would need replacing in 20 years.
Michaux goes on to do the same sums for all the other metals and minerals needed, e.g. Nickel: 940 billion tonnes, which would take 400 years at current mining rates, and the world only contains 10% of this amount, or Lithium: 944 billions tonnes, which would take 10,000 years to mine, and the world only contains 2% of this amount.
As far as I know, no-one has been able to dispute Michaux's figures, and he would need to be many orders of magnitude wrong for the renewables solution to become workable (if anyone does know of alternative analysis, I would certainly like the reassurance that things aren't as bad as Michaux's report indicates).
What was very clear from his presentation is that our glorious technocratic leaders are operating on anti-knowledge, and had never even thought to do the back-of-the-envelope sums in the first place, let alone done them. I am afraid they are likely to drive us off a cliff in their steadfast pursuit of a solution which appears to be a pipe dream, based on wishful and magical thinking