What are individual states doing to reduce reliance on fossil fuels by turning to renewable resources like the wind and the sun?
As we see in this episode of the Lean to the Left podcast with energy scientist Jack Kerfoot, that North Carolina and Virginia are making remarkable progress, while Florida and West Virginia continue to pretend climate change is a hoax, and Kentucky is making some headway but has a long, long way to go to make climate change progress.
The type and power potential of renewable energy resources (wind, solar, hydropower, etc.) vary significantly across our nation. States in the Great Plains have strong and consistent winds, while states in the Southwest have an abundance of sunny days.
Environmental philosophies and policies also vary from state to state, and these episodes explore where progress is being made and where much more action is needed. Often, the political leadership in individual states determine the extent to which climate change is being taken seriously and effective policies being implemented — or not.
This is the fourth of five podcasts that explore these questions in various regions of the country. Episode one, covering four Northeastern states, the second episode, analyzing five Midwestern states, and the third show, examining five Southwestern states, are now streaming; the fifth episode, focusing on several western states, will stream soon.
"The clock is ticking," warns Kerfoot, a scientist, energy expert and author of the book Fueling America an Insider's Journey. Kerfoot began his career in the energy industry in 1976 when America was paralyzed by an oil embargo and is now a strong advocate for renewable energy as the solution for combating climate change. He's the principal of JL Kerfoot Energy Services and blogs on his website, Our Energy Conundrum at JackKerfoot.com.
One conclusion that has become clear in all of these episodes, including this one, is that efforts to preserve coal mining for the production of energy in order to save jobs are misguided. In fact, it is shown repeatedly that renewable energy — principally solar and wind — provide far more jobs than does coal.
So, Kerfoot, noting that many of coal industry workers' skill sets are transferrable to wind and solar, says the idea that coal must be preserved to protect jobs is simply "fake news."
Listen to the episode:
Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/UV82WnuyDPc