California's Moon Shot - Go All Electric?

California has put itself in a tough spot - how to meet its energy goals.

"California must be fully electrified 40 years from now with residents driving only electric cars and plugging them into a grid powered by carbon-free power plants if the state is to meet its most far-reaching climate goals, according to a new study."

But just like JFK's famous speech about going to the moon "within a decade" - at a time when we didn't have the technology to do it - California could benefit greatly from setting a difficult goal. It will have to invent its way to a carbon-free future.

The beneficiaries will be the United States which needs to move up the technology food chain to the next level - or stagnant as a technology leader.
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Asia is already investing more into clean energy than the United States. That puts Asia in the drivers seat (no pun intended) in this emerging new industry.

"California's landmark 2006 greenhouse gas law calls for reducing emissions by 2020 to 1990 levels. But the law also sets a goal of cutting emissions an additional 80 percent by 2050.

Friday's study found that meeting that long-term goal is possible and does not require major technological or behavioral breakthroughs like the development of nuclear fusion or a mass conversion to vegetarianism and bicycle commuting.

But it will require a lot of innovation and investment, preferably starting now..."

California has had the vision and guts to do something that Congress has not. I predict it will create green jobs and technology that will put it ahead of states like Texas that are fixated on dirty fossil fuels as Asian nations lead in clean tech. We need the rest of the nation to undertake this same challenge.

The full article link is:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/25/2518894/study-californians-must-make-big.html