Elon Musk, the CEO of electric carmaker Tesla Motors, met yesterday to discuss climate change, greenhouse gases, and renewable energy with Republican Presidential hopeful Donald Trump—who in the past has expressed skepticism over green technologies. On Monday, Musk explained himself, striking a position he cast as a middle ground: He doesn't believe in blanketly vilifying the oil and gas industries or calling for their wholesale eradication.
Musk set up his speech on renewable energy by boiling his reasoning down to two key points: the amount of fossil fuel availability and human health due to rising CO2 levels. He commented that sustainable energy will have to come into play primarily because at some time in history, the supply of petroleum is going to be too low to support the economic burden.
On the health front, Musk said that increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere make breathing increasingly uncomfortable. He mentioned that high concentrations of CO2 give a headache and nausea, underlining that high CO2 levels are something to avoid, independent of the topic of global warming.
Currently, CO2 levels are about 400 parts per million, rising at about two parts per million per year. Musk said the former may imply we have a long time before things get bad, while the latter gives a misaligned perception of disaster within five years.
Musk says the future looks bright for solar energy, stating it will eventually dominate global generation. It envisions a future where, with battery storage inseparable due to the simple fact that the sun is only present during the day, solar power will help provide a sustainable energy solution for electric vehicles.
Trump seemed distracted during the discussion, shifting topics to oil drilling in Alaska and nuclear war as a threat, instead of talking about global warming. Musk admitted this political stand, saying that he had usually voted for Democratic candidates and described himself as moderately left-leaning. Trump responded by saying that he remembered Musk as someone who is left-leaning.
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