A Thai boy riding a motorcycle waits patiently to cross the street. After a minute he sees an opening and very slowly makes his way across even with having a powerful motorcycle. Waiting for him on the other side is a police officer who says, “What are you doing crossing the road with an elephant?” The boy replies, “What elephant?”
This variation of the ‘Elephant in the Room’ joke comes from a 1935 Broadway musical with Jimmy Durante according to Wikipedia. The metaphor pertains to something, usually a problem or situation, so big and controversial that no one wants to discuss it.
An American Senator running for President (Vox) proposes spending $16 trillion on green energy while eliminating nuclear power and natural gas electric generation. Do you see the elephant?
Yesterday, a dozen governors wrote President Biden to demand only ‘zero-emission vehicles’ by 2035. NPR reports the letter states, "Moving quickly towards a zero-emission transportation future will protect the health of all communities.” Do you see an elephant (that produces no waste byproducts)?
On this Earth Day 2021, we can appreciate all the elephants, wildlife and other endangered species on our planet. We can also insist on getting the truth as to where we get our electricity and how globally interdependent we are on energy. I have provided many blogs on energy topics including the nuclear fuel cycle, electrical grid and the Green New Deal which can be found on the home page search bar.
A discussion of energy and transportation infrastructure must begin with where the power comes from to keep the lights on, run the AC, power the TVs, computers, cell phones, hospital ventilators, etc. While solar and wind power are awesome technologies we cannot ignore the elephant in the room and pretend anything is ‘zero emissions.’ How much electric power do we need now and how much more will be needed in the future as we decarbonize fuel sources? How many coal fired power plants will be converted to natural gas? What do we do with the spent nuclear fuel radioactive waste sitting at dozens of reactor sites around the country? Apparently there is more than one elephant in the room as there’s now an entire herd!