The city will reduce demand and convert to natural gas, showing that real work on better climate and energy policy might come from the city level, not the feds.
If the developed world uses less coal, it makes it cheaper for everyone else, which makes emissions skyrocket. To really stop climate change, says one economist, we need to buy all the coal and oil. And then not use it.
The classic urban planning simulation is getting an introduction to the modern age, and that means making decisions about exploiting natural resources that can have dire consequences for your citizens.
In an ideal world, we’d stop burning coal completely. We don’t live in an ideal world, though, so while we wait to get rid of the coal, finding ways to make it burn cleaner would be helpful. One solution: just nuke it.
China's coal use grew 400% between 1982 and 2002, and has continued to rise. If we're going to do something about climate change, this graphic shows, China is going to need to find a new source of fuel.
While the company says it will still pour dollars into other renewable projects, it's done doing its own R&D. Here's what the RE<C initiative managed to accomplish before it was unceremoniously shuttered.
We're not going to run out of coal, but the coal we've got is getting less and less powerful, and harder and harder to mine. And China wants everything that's left.
Most of our modern technology is powered by a few very rare elements. Most of those elements aren't found in the United States. Until we find new solutions, we're at the mercy of other countries.
Natural gas might burn much cleaner than coal, but getting it has its problems: leaky pipes. And those leaks spray gasses that are worse for the climate than carbon.
