LETTER: Drawbacks to solar power are greatly exaggerated
The July 27 letter, “Solar folly,” contains a lot of outdated or wrong information.
It claims the U.S. emits only 14 percent of the world’s CO2 emissions. However, “The United States of America is the all-time biggest greenhouse gas emitter” (World Bank), with more than twice the per-capita emissions of China (Wikipedia).
The letter also claims solar is too expensive. In fact, solar (and wind) energy, with storage and without subsidies, is now as cheap or cheaper than any fossil fuel worldwide (Lazard). Clean energy prices drop substantially every year.
But the biggest economic reward from clean energy will be the prevention of “catastrophic” global warming (National Academy of Sciences) that would otherwise cost the U.S. economy more than $160 trillion (Forbes, April 2019).
We have only a decade left to make the transition to clean energy (IPCC). If we don’t start now, global warming will destroy our economy. Just a half-degree increase in global temperatures will cost the U.S. economy $13 trillion and we’re already locked into a 1.5-degree Centigrade increase and heading for a 4-degree Centigrade increase (National Academy of Sciences).
