Careful consideration doesn’t work around thermodynamical limits very much, I’m afraid. When we move forward, we do not energy transition but rather add new atop the old: we never stopped burning classical biomass, coal or natural gas. Renewable energy is just a new thin layer on top. Depletion of mineral resources necessary for renewable infrastructure buildout and maintenance indeed does a number on the overall economics and energetics, but unfortunately in the wrong drection.
Careful consideration doesn’t work around thermodynamical limits very much, I’m afraid. When we move forward, we do not energy transition but rather add new atop the old: we never stopped burning classical biomass, coal or natural gas. Renewable energy is just a new thin layer on top. Depletion of mineral resources necessary for renewable infrastructure buildout and maintenance indeed does a number on the overall economics and energetics, but unfortunately in the wrong drection.