In this final installment looking back on the first book on the Energiewende of 1980, Craig Morris looks at the many things the book gets right and wonders whether it might provide good reasons to finally call for a coal phaseout in Germany.
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Germany’s Energiewende: What Have We Learned So Far?
Within the next decade, Germany will have shifted from a coal- and nuclear-powered economy to a thriving, decentralized system with power from renewable sources. This transformation, writes John Mathews, will not only make a real reduction in global carbon emissions. It is leading to a democratization of economic power that is unprecedented in the industrial world.
Looking back at the Energiewende 1980 – Nuclear Cannot be Efficient
In the late 1970s, the first major protests against nuclear power had already taken place in Whyl and Brokdorf. Perhaps no other publication better reveals what the arguments against nuclear were back then than the original book Energiewende. Craig Morris was mainly surprised at the early focus on overall efficiency.
Looking back at the Energiewende 1980 – 55 Percent Coal?
The term “Energiewende” did not come about in 2011, but rather in the late 1970s, and it was canonized in an eponymous book from 1980. But a close read reveals that “Energiewende: growth and prosperity without petroleum and uranium” is not about phasing out coal at all – quite the contrary, as Craig Morris reports in this three-part series.
From Coal to Renewables – The Jobs Perspective
Over at the Washington Post, environmental blogger Brad Plumer rightly points out the social responsibility we have in the switch from old technologies (coal power) to new ones (renewables). Germany has quite a bit of experience switching coal miners to green jobs, and Craig Morris knows the German word for it: Strukturwandel, or structural change.
2012 German Nuclear and Gas-Fired Generation Falls Further While Renewables Grow
A proper analysis of the composition of German electricity and the effects of renewables is often difficult to conduct as contradictory interpretations clash. Guest Author Paul Gipe from Wind-Works.org takes a step back and looks at the most recent data from a long-term perspective to shed some light on the developments caused by the energiewende.
The New Energy System is Winning the Fight for the Future
What role will the energiewende play in the upcoming parliamentary elections in Germany? How does Germany’s approach to renewables differ from the UK’s? Catherine Mitchell from the University of Exeter takes a look at both countries.
Germans Driven by Facts, Not Fear – Deal With It
Why the moral indignation at Germany’s attempt to switch to renewables? When checking into Germany, Craig Morris advises Americans to leave their vituperation at the door. Germans of different political camps speak respectfully with each other and are guided by facts, not ideology – with, he regrets, the exception of Der Spiegel.
Clean Break Inspires Americans to Pursue “Energy Change”
Renewable energy journalist Osha Gray Davidson recently released a book called Clean Break, detailing the German Energiewende (translation: energy change). John Farrell points out how the book essentially tells a societal story of how Germans systematically shift to clean energy.
Count Nuclear Waste, Not Just CO2
How much carbon does the average American or European emit per year? How much does the world emit? And if you know the answers to those questions, maybe you can also tell Craig Morris how many tons of nuclear waste the world has? He tried, and failed, to find out.