I think renewables technology has gotten pretty damn amazing though. But that is expected given the massive amount of money funneled to its research.

I think the really cool thing that they allow is, imagine solar panels becoming so cheap but still efficient, and huge batteries like Tesla’s power wall, becoming better, you can have like whole small towns pretty easily behave as their own entire power grid pumping energy where it is needed.

It makes the idea of lots of small rural villages seem possible which I think is pretty cool.

We could probably see the world population double and yet keep similar urban densities.

renewables are not a joke. Please don't minimise their contributions in the past two decades.

The better way to characterise the problem is that renewables are intermittent - a problem for which we do not currently have a large-scale solution. One solution is to use a non-polluting technology that currently works - nuclear power - while we buy ourselves time to build out and develop renewable capacity.

Right - we don't have storage capacity. Batteries are another joke. So that basically leaves gravity-hydro reservoirs, late 19th century style. Nuclear uses far less resources (plastics, metals, etc) per unit of energy over lifetime.

Still, it's a good distinction to make for people who aren't familiar with the topic, so ty for that.

If we can get to a point of civilization where we have mini nuclear power plants that power like 20 houses, and mini sewage/water treatment plants for the same, now that would be cool.

I wish all the money that went towards renewables research instead went towards nuclear...