100% renewable energy claims are almost always trumped up and this is no exception. For ~5 hrs on Oct 7, Greece’s IPTO said that renewables accounted for 100% of electricity generation. This is NOT the same as 100% of energy, and Greece is nowhere close to being powered solely by renewables.
▪️IPTO’s snapshot of Greece’s electricity production over the last 10 days shows natural gas and lignite (coal) play a large role in powering Greece (photo posted in comments). Often the wind doesn’t blow and/or the sun doesn’t shine, so reliable sources need to pick up the slack.
https://www.admie.gr/en
▪️For example, on Oct 9, renewables produced almost nothing, and fossil fuels produced the large bulk of Greece’s electricity. Greece is lucky to have ~10% of hydropower (the only reliable renewable) but they don’t have nuclear, so gas & coal must be ready at all times to power their grid.
▪️The most recent monthly report is from August, which showed fossil fuels accounted for 58.7% of Greece’s electricity, while hydro produced 8.6% and other renewables 32.6%. (Chart posted in comments)
https://www.admie.gr/sites/default/files/attached-files/type-file/2022/10/Energy_Report_202208_v1_1_en.pdf
▪️YTD, fossil fuels produced 48.5%, hydro 8.6% and other renewables 37.5%. To pretend Greece is 100% powered by renewables because of one 5 hr period is laughable. A modern nation needs power 100% of the time, on demand, not sporadically.
▪️Remember, energy encompasses far more than electricity. Most homes are heated by gas, and most cars, agriculture and industrial production are powered by fossil fuels. Europe is quickly learning this importance as winter comes and gas supplies are interrupted.
▪️This meme also ignores that Greece’s electricity prices have skyrocketed recently, and 45% of Greek households are already in arrears, unable to pay the increased prices.
https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2022/08/21/electricity-up-to-65-as-greeces-suppliers-announce-sept-tariffs/
▪️In response, the Greek government is spending billions it doesn’t have to massively subsidize electricity bills for its citizens who can’t afford their electricity.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/greece-extends-energy-bill-subsidies-ahead-winter-battle-2022-09-21/
▪️Other countries who’ve tried to switch to renewables have seen similar spikes in electricity prices and issues with their grids. Like Germany, which is actually now turning back to coal in order to keep the lights on.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/27/1124448463/germany-coal-energy-crisis#:~:text=Press-,Germany%20goes%20back%20to%20burning%20coal%20as%20its%20energy%20crisis,Germany%20is%20turning%20to%20coal
▪️Propaganda about running on 100% renewables ignores the fact that the country/city is often totally reliant on reliable sources (usually fossil fuels) and that any attempts to seriously switch to a renewable grid results in skyrocketing prices, fragility, and ironically an increased reliance on gas.
I first critiqued this terrible take by looking at how food has actually improved substantially. Even though I said the same could be done in every category, people said “you’re only doing food.” So let’s do air travel and see why it’s not gotten better, not worse.
▪️Aircraft have greatly improved. Just 15-20 years ago, many domestic routes (~15%) were flown by turboprops like the Brasilia, Dash 8 or Saab. Now, almost everything is in jets, and most aircraft have WiFi. Some even have Starlink, where you probably have faster WiFi than your home. Most major airlines offer dozens or hundreds of movies and shows to watch.
▪️Newer designs like the 787 have lower cabin altitudes and improved humidity, which make a huge difference in passenger comfort on long haul flights. The first/business class international market has gotten very competitive globally, with many carriers offering excellent service and amenities. Pods, suites, showers, etc. Coach still sucks but is dramatically cheaper ...
This is the complete opposite of an empirical fact. The right has now joined the left in being pessimistic about the modern world and completely unappreciative of the amazing abundance we now have. I’ll just focus on food here, but you could do it for almost every category.
▪️Fresh produce used to be available only in season. In the winter it was canned or frozen. People used to send fruit for Christmas gifts, it was that much of a luxury good. Now, you can get giant, sweet berries year around in every grocery store. Corn on the cob in February. Not to mention once rare items like dragon fruit, heirloom tomatoes or baby bok choy.
▪️If you didn’t live on the coast, seafood was either not available, frozen, or extremely expensive. If you lived in the Midwest and traveled to coastal locales you would quite literally be able to eat food you had never seen. Salmon has become much more abundant and accessible. You can get fresh ahi at Walmart today. Sushi and oyster bars exist everywhere ...
▪️This is a proposal that pertains only to graduate level nursing degrees, not undergraduate ones (which were never considered professional degrees). The proposal will have a 30-60 day public comment period next year, where groups can object, before the DoE will decide on it.
▪️This is about how much federal student loans someone can take out for a particular degree. The cap on graduate degrees is $100k ($20,500/yr), while a “professional degree” limit is $200k ($50k/yr).
▪️Under the new rule proposal, professional degrees include:
🔹Pharmacy
🔹Dentistry
🔹Veterinary medicine
🔹Chiropractic
🔹Law
🔹Medicine (including osteopathic medicine & podiatry)
🔹Optometry
🔹Theology
▪️The nursing degrees excluded are ones like master of science in nursing (MSN), doctor of nursing practice (DNP) and PhD in nursing. These degrees would be limited to $100k in federal student loans, like all other graduate degrees.
▪️These changes came from the One Big Beautiful Bill’s...
