Sustainability: Speed Bump or Merging in the Fast Lane?

Given recent events in D.C. one might think that many, if not all, recent advances in regards to sustainability are about to go up in smoke. However, there has been some very encouraging news that would lead one to believe that all progress is not lost. The following is a brief roundup from my reading out there in the webosphere.

Photo Credit: The Guardian, Thomas Russ Arnesta

Electric car sales have increased by approximately 50% every year since 2010. Good news – they have now approached 1% of the total market from basically zero just a few years ago! As the range between charges continues to grow and the costs of batteries continue to drop EV’s are becoming more attractive to the mass market. Some countries like Norway are now seeing nearly 40% of newly registered passenger cars are EVs. Granted, the Europeans have a lot more options for lower cost EV’s than the U.S., but it indicates that with proper pricing, government support and an infrastructure of charging stations people will opt for electric cars. Also, it doesn’t hurt that gas prices are taxed at fairly high levels.

Some believe that this is the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine; a silver lining to VW’s dieselgate? Recent focus on the sins of the oil burners in Europe has resulted in several cities restricting older diesel powered cars from entering city limits during working hours. Additionally, there are discussions about scrappage programs to pay people to get rid of older diesel cars. Further restrictions on gas powered cars are also coming.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

Again, this is happening mostly in Europe and notably cities with pollution issues such as Paris and London. Even Beijing is getting on board, recently announcing that the city will invest $1.3 billion dollars to replace all existing 70,000 taxis with electric vehicles. However, one hopes that not all that electricity will be coming from coal fired power plants. Beijing is not alone; pollution in urban environments has become such a recurring public health problem that drastic action is required. Which brings us to power plants and how to move away from fossil fuels. Coal is on its way out … what about cheap natural gas? Some argue that natural gas is here for the short term, as a relatively clean stepping stone to get us to 100% renewables.

Back here in the U.S. cars are not the only focus for electrification. 30 cities have recently stated an interest in ordering over $10 Billion worth of EV’s for municipal use such as street sweepers, trash trucks and the like, including some vehicles that are currently not available on the market. There has been a fair amount of research into alternate fuels from 18 wheelers to motorbikes and everything in-between. The reality of urban pollution and the human and financial costs are driving use towards more sustainable practices, regardless of politics. 

There has also been a 50% increase in the amount of solar power added worldwide in 2016, with China and the U.S. doubling what they had in 2015. It is safe to assume that this growth will continue into the future as the cost of panels continues to decline. Not to mention Elon Musk and his soon to be released solar shingles and Powerwall 2.0, which will make solar power available to many more customers who might have thought the current panels were ugly. Additionally, there are now practical ways to store energy from a sunny day for the proverbial cloudy day. So, are all these folks becoming solar ‘tree huggers’? Probably not. In a capitalist economy, it’s all about the profit to be made. Finally, in some parts of the country, and the world, renewable solar energy is cheaper than pulling off the grid. Unfortunately, solar power is only contributing about 1% of the total electricity used in 2016. We still have a long way to go.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons

However, wind energy is making bigger inroads and also finally becoming financially viable, look at Texas, the traditional center of the oil industry in the U.S. Texas now produces more wind energy than the next three states combined – supplying almost 50% of the electricity used within the state. While wind power only accounts for 5% of the total electricity produced in the U.S., the anticipated growth in this industry should dramatically change this over the next decade. Can you say ‘off shore wind farms in New England’? If you can’t, they are coming anyway.

So, are we looking at a reversal of the strides that have been made over the past several years or have basic economics taken over? Renewal energy is becoming a fact of life because it is becoming more cost effective, not necessarily because it is the right thing to do. But wasn’t that the end game anyway? Similarly, burning fossil fuels has so many downsides in an industrialized world, it was ultimately unsustainable on so many levels.

So, due to the political winds do you think that sustainable strategies are about to move in the wrong direction? Will reducing CAFÉ standards kill off the burgeoning EV industry? Will clean coal, whatever that is, replace solar panels? Or, is the cat is out of the bag? Renewal energy is becoming big business and the green they are referring to is money. I, for one, think the tipping point has come and we are on our way to saving the planet despite ourselves. I guess we can only hope we are not too late.