Regarding the post entitled "High Density Transit Oriented Development Won't Reduce Greenhouse Gases," Silvestri should be applauded for stripping away and addressing core issues of transit associated greenhouse gas (GHG) intensities, which is to say that the numbers are either doctored or heavily massaged to arrive at a desired outcome. That outcome resides in the fraternity of consultants and government ideologues who extract money and who place their views above what may be objectively concluded if given the opportunity to examine unadulterated data.
Electric cars and solar (and wind) result have their own issues that consultants and government ideologues are not addressing. Automobile electrification adds load to an electric system that is already on the constant fringe of blackout. Solar & wind are not meeting the challenge because they are intermittent, meaning their electrons are delivered when California does not need it. California’s grid operator, CAISO, is already curtailing those resources because of they threaten stability (balance) of the grid.
This is not to disregard the wholesale pollution in the manufacture of solar panels and wind turbines (silicon wafers, fan blade resins, steel foundry… and coal for raw formation of silicon), plus the end-of-life disposal of those “clean” resources.
When sequestration is mentioned, biomass renewable energy must also be addressed. Biomass is not subject to wind & solar intermittency, but it is a heavy polluter of particulate matter (PM, which you can search on web). Argue that biomass is carbon neutral if you want (emits not net increase in GHGs?), but that does not address the PM from biomass power plants – if that’s not a problem, build your house next to a biomass power facility and breathe deeply when the wind blows in your direction.
Biomass demand and construction of biomass power plants is growing at a logarithmic rate – contrary to sequestration. You may cite that biomass fuel is “dead” and so this is a moot point. Have you watched Michael Moore’s “Planet of the Humans?” https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Ski gondolas? Who has an extra hour or two of commute time? Don’t forget the raw materials (steel columns, steel cable, fiberglass gondolas) that are needed. Water taxis? What about water pollution? There is a large gap in ship & boat pollution regulation and enforcement.
Mr. Silvestri should be applauded for all of his work, because the emperor most definitely has no clothes. The cabal of consultants and government “leaders” isn’t doing us any favors.