A past column identified the false assertions by activists and climate change alarmists in respect of “saving the planet” and defining carbon dioxide as a “pollutant.” Similarly misnamed 'renewables' are inaccurately relied upon to reduce carbon output..A definition of renewables: “Collected from renewable resources, naturally replenished, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.”.But, windmills and solar panels demonstrate a fallacy in they provide little or no reductions of CO2 emissions — in the short- to medium-term, they augment emission levels..We all know wind and sun are intermittent sources of electrical generation. Therefore, unless people are prepared to put up with intermittent availability of electricity, steady baseload generation is necessary. The options are coal and natural gas. Wind and solar are often contracted such that the timing of electricity flow is determined by the sun or wind, reducing ability to turn on or off to meet immediate needs..All this means on a full cycle basis, renewables are often less economical with respect to levels of operating costs and investment..We also know wind and sunshine are carbon-free sources. However, advocates only count emissions once the windmills and solar panels are in place. This is a deliberate distortion of the total level of emissions from wind and solar power sources. Although wind power is the example that follows, solar is similar..Emissions begin with the mining of rare earth minerals, mostly in China. That takes fossil fuel energy. The fact they're found with other materials requires refining followed by manufacturing and further transportation to tidewater — each step adding to carbon dioxide emissions..Blades are loaded on diesel-powered ships on to the next destination. They are then transported to the designated site for installation — each step generates more emissions..It is interesting to visit a wind farm. The reaction of many, myself included, is amazement at the size and scale of the towers and blades. The construction of these huge edifices requires extensive amounts of both steel and concrete — again, not possible without fossil fuels..The calculation of total full-cycle emissions depends upon the specific details of the mining, refining, manufacturing and multi-transportation process. My research suggests it takes about 20 years to recoup emissions already produced..And it's about then panels, blades (and often the gear box) need replacement. The cycle then repeats with investment and combustion of fossil fuels needed to replace so-called renewables..Some media players and politicians are beginning to appreciate broader environmental issues. Neither windmill blades nor solar panels are biodegradable. Panels can be melted and reused, but only by way of high temperatures requiring more electricity and emissions..Renewables, especially windmills, are increasingly subject to populist NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) rejection for understandable reasons. There are also some amusing outcomes — recently the global warming gadfly, Greta Thornburg, joined an aboriginal protest group in Norway to block a wind farm..How dare she!.The location of wind and solar farms are often remote, requiring grid expansion, an expensive proposition requiring additional fossil fuel consumption..And so it goes on. Now and for the foreseeable future, the world needs every possible source of energy, including renewables, even if they are costly and deliberately mislabeled. Energy is the foundation of civilization; growing populations in less advanced countries want the same prosperity we enjoy; economic progress increases demand for energy, including fossil fuels..The bigger picture is more insidious — the role of fossil fuels is more about the role of ever bigger government in our lives. From its first environment and development meetings in 1988 and 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, the United Nations has and continues to lead climate alarmism. It's a unique opportunity for the UN to instill a set of consensual global governance rules and achieve real power. But do we want unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats in charge?.While socialism has been repeatedly discredited, those who still want more government are behind this global initiative. It's a key aspect of the broad cultural war currently raging throughout the advanced world..Already our socialist Prime Minister positioned Canada as a global leader, sending the largest delegations per capita to the annual climate change conflabs. Unrealistic targets are increasingly limiting individual rights, such as no more internal combustion engines after a future date. Regulations also limit individual and business activities — pipelines, tankers, use of plastics and more coming. The Ottawa reordering of the economies of Western Canada and Newfoundland have begun..This conveniently also plays to the current federal government’s resentment of energy-driven prosperity while hypocritically confiscating and redistributing its proceeds, especially to its favorite political beneficiary, Quebec..Renewables are only one avenue increasing the role of government and control over its citizens. If they are such a wonderful solution, people making free choices will accept their virtues and investment capital will emerge without need for subsidies, regulation, government prohibitions and direction from political and other elites..Market dynamics led the transitions from wood to coal, to oil, and recently towards natural gas. Energy transitions over time have been a significant contributor to the unprecedented prosperity we enjoy today. Force feeding so called renewables is succumbing to the disingenuous and destructive agendas of the likes of the United Nations, Justin Trudeau, and their increasingly bold fellow travellers..The road to hell, especially when not paved with good intentions, is facilitated by misappropriation of important words, including renewables.
