
MYTH #105: It's too hard to shift to clean energy


Shifting over to clean energy would require changing our way of life and shutting down our economy, and wouldn’t even solve the problem.


Is it too hard to go to the moon, eradicate smallpox or end apartheid? Is it too hard to build a computer that fits in your pocket? No? Then it's not too hard to build a clean energy future, either.

When was the last time we used “it’s too hard” as an excuse? Is that what they said in the U.S. when President Kennedy wanted to go to the moon? Is that what they said before the Iron Curtain fell in Eastern Europe? Or before smallpox was eradicated from the face of the earth? No. In just the same way, we’re already seeing that shifting to clean energy is a whole lot easier than we thought. Clean energy accounted for more than half of all new electric power added in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, China boosted its clean energy generation to 226 Megawatts four times the annual electricity use of the United Kingdom. Global investment in clean energy climbed to record highs in 2011, topping out at $260 billion worldwide. That’s a 5 percent climb compared to 2009 and five times the investment made in 2004. The transition to clean energy won’t happen overnight, but it will happen sooner than we think.

Additional info from Bill White, Americans for a Clean Energy Grid


Renewable energy actually reduces electricity prices for businesses and consumers.



Infrastructure to connect renewable energy is a great investment.


Integrating variable renewable resources is easier and cheaper than we thought.


Why has integrating so much wind so fast been relatively painless?



Adapted from © Grist