In a letter published over the weekend, critics slammed the Washington Post for stating that totally shifting away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power may prevent future electrical blackouts.
It was one year ago that a massive deep freeze gripped parts of Texas, resulting in a five-day blackout, and The Washington Post cited a recent study by Stanford University that argued switching to renewable alternative energy sources and completely eliminating the use of fossil fuels would result in a significant reduction in energy demand and avoid events such as the Texas blackout.
Stanford researchers discovered that moving to 100 percent renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and water will “decrease demand for energy while simultaneously lowering consumer costs,” creating millions of new jobs, and improving people’s health, according to the findings of the study.
The study found that “total end-use energy demand decreased by around 57 percent,” and that “per capita household annual energy costs were around 63 percent less than a ‘business as usual’ scenario.” The study used simulations that assumed the use of electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, as well as the complete replacement of fossil fuel sources of energy.
The research also asserted that entirely abandoning fossil fuels would result in the creation of “5 million long-term, full-time jobs,” but did not indicate how many jobs would be lost as a result of completely abandoning the fossil fuel industry.
Several people reacted to social media to criticize The Post and the study, with some claiming it was “delusional” and “totally idiotic,” while others questioned why nuclear power wasn’t brought up in the discussion. The Post did add that nuclear energy sources, as well as coal and natural gas sources, were forced to shut down during the Texas freeze.
One critic advised that “everyone [sic] drive by one of those windmill farms and count how many are working?” while another said that the report was “a straight-up fabrication.”
Another critic simply stated that Texas, which is known for its heavy oil production, will oppose any efforts to transition to renewable energy sources.