Realisticly California needs to lower it’s power consumption. Diablo Canyon is old, and potentially unsafe in the near future, but you can’t build anything to replace it, that will take 10 years.
Nuclear power is the only viable solution to climate change. Oil companies promote wind and solar because neither can generate enough consistent power to offer a real threat. Oil companies fight nuclear power with dirty tactics like backing anti-nuclear environmental groups because nuclear is the only real replacement for oil.
> The U.S. installed 5.7 gigawatts of solar PV capacity in Q2 2021 to reach 108.7 gigawatts of total installed capacity, enough to power 18.9 million American homes.[1]
> EIA expects that most large-scale battery energy storage systems to come online over the next three years will be built at power plants that also produce electricity from solar photovoltaics, a change in trend from recent years.[2]
Solar only works during the day. We have no battery technology, even remotely close to being able to store the power needed when the sun isn't shining.
I’ve noticed Democrats here don’t seem to care about the environment like they used to, despite the occasional rumble about climate change. But ask to enforce an existing law against gas-powered leaf blowers near homes (as dirty as ~100 trucks) and they get angry. Doesn’t matter if the environment is ruined as long as an immigrant has a low paying job destroying their own health. That there are new solutions like electric tools or old ones like push brooms are not taken seriously.
Maybe it was always a very low priority, but didn’t realize it until recently.
Living in Bay Area - can confirm totalitarian motifs generally amongst people living here. It’s also exporting it via the machinery of Big Tech.
I like societies where respectful and constructive dissent is allowed. The whole thing moves upwards towards a better world when there are checks and balances.
I think the vast majority of Californians couldn't care less about Gavin, it's just that we didn't want the crazy right-wing talk-radio host to take over.
Yeah there was no one even remotely credible up against him. If some insane radio host is the best anyone can come up with, I'll take the possibly shady professional politician any day. Whatever his other issues, Newsom isn't a nutjob and increasing the dysfunction of local government even more by electing a nutjob isn't going to help anyone.
Literally the worst thing I've ever heard about Newsom is that he used to date Kimberly Gilfoyle, an actual complete and total nutjob. Newsom's competition in the election were the kind of people who think Gilfoyle is a totally normal and sane human being and enjoyed her speech at the GOP convention last year.
