Monday, June 08, 2009

"Green" Transport Might Not Be So Green

It seems that taking the bus or train instead of driving may not as eco-friendly as you might think.

The pair give an example of how the use of oil, gas or coal to generate electricity to power trains can skew the picture.

Boston has a metro system with high energy efficiency. The trouble is, 82 percent of the energy to drive it comes from dirty fossil fuels.

By comparison, San Francisco's local railway is less energy-efficient than Boston's. But it turns out to be rather greener, as only 49 percent of the electricity is derived from fossils.

The secret is to shut down every coal fired power plant in the nation and replace it with a nuclear plant. Solar and wind are not at the technological level where they will make up for all of the coal plants that we would be losing. Nuclear plants, however, will be an actual bridge technology that will last us the 25-50 years it will take to build out enough solar and wind to take its place. If you are serious about climate change but are anti-nuclear then you are a fool.

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