Talking About Renewable Energy on David Letterman

When Mark Jacobson, popular expert on renewable energy, appears on the David Letterman Show tomorrow night, it’s likely that he’ll be saying essentially what I would if given the chance:  It’s technically and economically feasible – as well as morally imperative – to phase out of fossil fuels and power the world with renewable energy. 

Here are Jacobson’s comments on Germany’s Energiewende (translation: “energy transition”) – generally regarded in the mainstream media as a disaster caused by idealistic visionaries who don’t understand science. (Not to digress, but does that sound like a description of any German you’ve ever known?  It certainly doesn’t to me.)  Jacobson and I agree that the Energiewende has had generally positive effects, including job creation (something we may wish to consider here in the U.S.) and that stabilizing a grid whose resources are exclusively renewable is achievable with the right combination of technologies.

Again, as I’m fond of saying, the question isn’t: Will we get there?  We will.  The real questions are:

How much damage will we have done along the way?

and

Who’s going to make a buck in the process?