Clean Energy Moving Forward Despite Trumps E.P.A. Pick, Experts Say

[WhiteTara]

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/us/politics/trump-climate-epa-coal-jobs.html
snip
Those market forces could make Mr. Trump’s promise to create at least half a million energy jobs a year in the nation’s coal mines and oil shale fields all but impossible.

But if Mr. Trump’s promised jobs are unlikely to materialize, the impact on the planet from his policies would be significant. Without additional government policies, energy and environmental experts say, the shift from coal, oil and natural gas will not be rapid or substantial enough to stave off the worst impacts of a warming atmosphere, including rising sea levels, more powerful storms, more devastating droughts and food and water shortages.

“The good news is that on its own, the U.S. economy has become less carbon intensive, and that trend will continue overall,” said Robert N. Stavins, the director of the environmental economics program at Harvard University. The bad news, he said, is that markets alone will not lower emissions enough to offset the worst impacts of global warming.

snip
Mr. Trump formally tapped Scott Pruitt, the Oklahoma attorney general, to head his E.P.A. on Thursday, with an announcement on Facebook that emphasized job creation and energy production over environmental protection.

“Mr. Pruitt will be deeply involved in the implementation of President-elect Trump’s energy plan, which will move America toward energy independence, create millions of new jobs and protect clean air and water,” the statement said. “Mr. Pruitt will ensure that we conserve our natural habitats, reserves and resources, while unleashing an energy revolution that will bring vast new wealth to our country.”

That rebalancing of priorities, the president-elect said, will create “at least a half million jobs each year” and “$30 billion in higher wages.”

[ZoomBubba]

1. The main thing is ...

... that coal is very unlikely to make a comeback. While it has its hazards, natural gas is way more preferable to use as a bridge to green energy. We've already made great strides with gasoline in our cars as far as pollution, enough that the new culprit now seems to be agriculture. It's why I'm certain the next key step in fighting greenhouse gas has less to do with fossil fuels and more to do with diet ... which we all know is harder to change.