Posted by petethomas 3 hours ago
A YouTuber known for talking about dishwashers and Christmas lights recently put out a long rant about how ridiculous it is that humanity still leans so much on single use fuels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQ9nt2ZeGM
There was a book about renewable energy in Britain about 17 years ago, "Sustainable Energy -- Without the Hot Air" that tried to make the argument that renewables could not power Britain, there wasn't enough land. But if you drilled down, this conclusion was due to use of biofuels.
Corn kind of reproduces itself every year (If you don't get the GMO kind), so you only need natural resources to continue to grow it right? Water, sunlight and labor?
At industrial scale, it has a huge petro-chemical fertiliser input.
All the energy inputs to agriculture could be replaced with non-fossil inputs. Fertilizer in particular needs hydrogen to make ammonia, but that can be produced from non-fossil sources.
https://www.wanhossolars.com/news/ukrainian-solar-power-plan...
In most developed countries solar is seasonal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertropical_Convergence_Zone
https://www.nordicstatistics.org/news/the-5-large-nordic-cou...
Nobody else can do that.
A lot of food for thought all around.
It’s pretty hard to sort out after the fact.
Edit since I am throttled on posts and cannot reply below: The US briefly blockaded Cuba in the 60s, but they have only embargoed them since then. They are not blocked from international trade by the US, except with the US. There is no meaningful block from Cuba engaging in the greater international non-US "global economy" such as EU,Asia, etc.
For instance, I can buy Malibu rum, no matter that Pernod Ricard does business with Cuba. Or flights in USA with Air France, no matter that they also do business in Havana. Or ZTE phones which are imported into both USA and Cuba from China (carrier limitations but only because USA government won't do business with ZTE associated businesses, not because they can't be sold in USA). Or Sinopec (oil) which does business in USA including a large investment of presence in Texas but also does business with Cuba.
Yes your blanket any is a lot more applicable if you said the truth which is any business that wants to do business with USA federal government which is much closer to the truth (but even then, Sinopec for instance has through its subsidiaries been allowed to bid on strategic oil reserve transactions no matter their ownership is a major trader with Cuba).
Cuba is actively trading with EU, Asian, etc companies that are also trading with USA.
What are you talking about?
And then reinstated in 2017. How has that been "over for a long while"?
"Compared to the peak of 11.2 million inhabitants reached in 2012 – the year of the last census – Cuba has lost 13% of its population. [...] A quarter of the island's population is aged 60 and over, and it is the only demographic category that has grown in recent years"
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/04/30/c...
A very similar pattern to Venezuela which saw a similar exodus.
They've received free oil from Venezuela, Mexico, and Russia for decades. This whole crisis is because the country is horribly mismanaged and the free ride is over.
Most countries have to purchase their oil at market prices. Cuba has been spared that burden yet is still worse off than the average country.
IIRC both Russia and China have demanded economic reforms which are not forthcoming. The Chinese aren't stupid and they don't seem too interested in pissing their money away indefinitely on a 'partner' who ignores them.
You don't get to criticize the quality of someone's system until you take your foot off their neck.
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In a sane world, we would be Cuba's largest trading partner and largest source of tourists. In that hypothetical world, the ongoing economic and cultural exchange would have propelled the island towards a different political system. Instead, we doubled down on an approach that has failed for 70+ years.
The blocker to this has always been the government refusing to reform. I don't see how increased exchange changes this. If anything, the Cuban government would've blocked any integration that threatens their control.
I assume by "we", you mean the Cuban leaders who have clung to power and their repressive ways against the best interests of the population?