San Diego To Run 100 Percent On Renewable Energy By 2035 (outerplaces.com)

The city of San Diego has announced a bold new plan to run completely on renewable energy by 2035. While the city already produces the second largest electrical output from solar energy in the U.S., the new plan further details a way to cope with the changing climate. It plans to reduce 50% of the greenhouse gas emission by 2035, as well as create new jobs through the manufacturing and installation of solar panels. "San Diego is a leader in innovation and sustainability," the Climate Action Plan reads. "By striking a sensible balance between protecting our environment and growing our economy, San Diego can support clean technology, renewable energy, and economic growth." San Diego joins San Francisco, Sydney, and Vancouver in its effort to run entirely on renewable energy.

Comments

Talk is cheap

[wickerprints]

I live in San Diego and these plans are just the usual political bullshit. All talk and no substance. The city couldn't even pull together an actual centennial celebration of Balboa Park--millions of taxpayer dollars were spent and it all just disappeared into the hands of various marketing companies and consultant firms, and nothing ever materialized. Meanwhile, the park's buildings and infrastructure are crumbling. And this is just one example of gross political mismanagement. The whole SD Chargers debacle is another. Why are taxpayers asked to foot the bill to help build a new football stadium just to prevent a mediocre team from leaving?

Having previously lived in LA, San Diego politics makes Los Angeles look like a well-oiled machine. "Climate Action Plan" is just another euphemism for "taxpayers will somehow get shafted by the time this is all said and done." 2035 will roll around and people will have paid for smoke and mirrors, like they have done time and time again. People are willing to fund projects, but only if the costs come under the budget, and what is promised is what is delivered. But there's not mechanism in place to hold officials accountable should they fail to make good on their promises, just as is the case with the rest of the US government.

Linked PDF....

[lobiusmoop]

It has lots of pretty pictures...

But interesting parts:
Page 19 - pie chart of emissions inventory - largest segment is transportation, 55%, so needs most attention.
Page 37 - plan of action is to get 25% of transport done via public transport by 2035... in California... which has 840 cars per 1000 people...

Good luck with that.

Re:it's easy to drive this change

[blindseer]

What you propose will lower the standard of living for millions of people. That means people will go hungry, delay medical care out of concern for the inability to pay, people won't be able to afford to go to college. I'm sure Obamacare will mean everyone gets top notch medical care. Future president Sanders will give everyone a college education. As for getting enough food for everyone I hear that the Soylent Corporation has a great idea for government subsidized nutrition supplements.

Where is this money going to come from to pay for all of this if people cannot afford to buy $10 gallons of gasoline? If people are spending that kind of money on energy then that leaves less money for other things like food, clothing, shelter, and education. I am amazed that people believe the solution to the "problem" of cheap oil is to tax it out of existence. Do you really think that will stop people? There's a lot of wells out there and I doubt the government knows where they all are. A black market will develop.

Here's a rule of thumb that I thought was a good rule for passing a law, would you be willing to shoot someone for breaking it? Think about that. Someone is desperate to keep their family from freezing to death in a North Dakota winter, would you be willing to shoot someone over bootleg heating oil?

The answer is not making oil expensive, the answer is making the alternatives cheaper. That's a much harder problem to solve but it does not involve shooting people that want to keep their baby from freezing to death.

In case my tone was lost in the text I'll end with this, fuck off and die.

End date 2 years = won't happen

[blindseer]

Any 20 year plan proposed by a government entity is doomed to failure. Any action proposed by a government official that cannot be in office to see it happen means it simply will not happen.

There is a famous speech by JFK that proposed an American will walk on the moon in 8 years. I suspect that the project survived after he died because his VP was on board and was able to get elected as POTUS afterward.

That's how to make a government promise work, set a goal in a meaningful time frame, get a lot of people to support it, and make it happen yourself. If you put a goal out beyond your time in office then it's not a promise, it's happy mouth noises.

Had this been a promise to deploy a certain number of solar panels and/or windmills in 2 years, maybe within 5 years, then I might believe them. Setting a twenty year goal is meaningless. Few people can stay in office that long. Even fewer can keep a promise that long.