By Maysie Krause | LTVN Reporter/Anchor
High temperatures are expected every year when coming back to campus, but the Texas heat was at an all-time high this year, making 2023 the third-hottest year on record through August. Let’s talk about that unbearable walk to the Baylor Sciences Building. More so, let’s talk about climate change.
According to the United Nations, by the end of the century, temperatures will increase by 2.8 C. Emissions must be cut in half by 2030 to keep warming below 1.5 C. To combat climate change, acts such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Framework Convention and the Paris Agreement have been passed.
In terms of international affairs and the economy, one act has proven controversial on both sides of the political spectrum. The Inflation Reduction Act was President Joe Biden’s first action to combat the effects of climate change. It aimed to curb inflation by reducing the federal deficit, lowering prescription drug prices and health insurance costs, modernizing the Internal Revenue Service and investing in clean energy. Although this policy claims to provide economic benefits, the idea of a complete green energy transition is economically counterproductive.
This year, J.P. Morgan & Co.’s Eye on the Market Annual Energy Paper was entitled “Growing Pains: The Renewable Transition in Adolescence.” According to this, there is good news about going green, but energy transitions take decades.
Green energy is expensive and actually causes more inflation. The pitch is biting off more than it can chew, because even if the economically developed countries participating in the Paris Agreement were to go 100% green, that would only be a portion of total global output.
The shift from coal to natural gas has shown the greatest reduction in carbon emissions in history, and from that, we move to nuclear energy.
The majority of France’s energy comes from nuclear power. According to Eurostat, it gets twice as much of its energy from zero-emission sources as Germany, yet pays about half as much for its electricity.
Furthermore, nuclear power can be more reliable, generating electricity seven days a week for 90% of the year. It is also one of the safest forms of generating electricity; nuclear waste can be safely contained and internalized, whereas every other form of energy emits waste into the environment.
Climate change is real and affects millions across the globe. While air pollution in relation to greenhouse gases is inevitable, an energy crisis remains under our control. Traditional fossil fuels are more efficient, geopolitically safer and less expensive than green energy, and nuclear energy remains on the rise as the next best option.
