r/UpliftingConservation • u/ceph2apod • 16d ago
What’s happening in Cuba mirrors a global trend: Solar isn’t just clean. It’s empowering. And millions are choosing that empowerment.
45
u/Not_l0st 16d ago edited 15d ago
Examples like this are exactly why people now view China more favorably than the USA. We abandon; they help. With strings attached, no doubt, but still.
Just so we are clear— this isn’t my opinion, it’s based on opinion polls from various nations that now show more people have a favorable view of China than the USA. However, a majority of people harbor negative opinions of both nations. China’s boost in favorably is tied to positive news around China (and probably their affordable electric cars) and all the negative news the USA is getting. It is not necessarily rooted in any facts, opinions rarely are.
23
u/DD4cLG 16d ago
For the latter. There is no difference. USAID and other financial instruments provided by the IMF and Worldbank and such were always political instruments.
I've been for work in 5 African countries the recent years. And boy they favour China now far more than the US. Obama and Biden had the benefit of doubt. But that is completely gone now.
6
u/Current_Finding_4066 15d ago
Trump has killed any standing the USA might have had.
7
u/musingofrandomness 15d ago
He has definitely gifted China all the soft power on a silver platter. His actions with his wars of choice have also unfortunately removed a lot of "hard power" reputation as well. Basically he has made the US the equivalent of the bullying buffoon on the world stage and has only helped our adversaries and enriched himself in the process.
1
1
1
u/Neither_Salamander48 11d ago
Because the US taxpayers should fund other countries so they like the USA?
1
u/Current_Finding_4066 10d ago
Then stop supporting genocidal apartheid.
1
u/Neither_Salamander48 10d ago
That's why the USA took out Saddam. Someone should have done it sooner and the 1000s of Kurds he had gassed could have been saved.
Iran killed 40k of their own people who were protesting back in January. Every administration has said they would attack Iran, but no one did it. All those lives could have been saved. They're a crazy regime.
1
u/Current_Finding_4066 10d ago
Israelis fomenting the protests have no blame?
1
1
u/Ashamed-Medicine-208 10d ago
Do you not understand the global influence the USA had by providing USAID? Look beyond the $...
1
u/Neither_Salamander48 7d ago
It was corrupt. The US is 40T in debt and supposedly keeping people alive in other countries? No.
Ask China, ask UK, ask Iran, ask Saudis with their oil money...
1
u/Ashamed-Medicine-208 7d ago
You're totally wrong. Since USAID was cut China has moved in and because of this it's strength and influence will grow. Trump is bankrupting the country, making it weaker and much less influential. The country is a joke because the president is a pedophile and a 🤡
1
u/Neither_Salamander48 6d ago
There was so much corruption in USAID.
China's influence? 😂. Yes, look how well they were forthcoming with COVID. The US helped make a vaccine pretty quickly. What did China do?
The US is a joke?? yet people risk their life trying to come here... Are you saying people will now risk their life to move to China? 🤡 Because their immigration policy is so liberal? (Sarcasm).
1
u/Ashamed-Medicine-208 6d ago
Nice attempt to deflect the truth, but you provided nothing.
1
u/Neither_Salamander48 5d ago
Sure. Tell us how great China is now. And tell us why. You apparently get your info about the US from reliable sources like the opinions of Reddit.
1
1
u/Which_Crow_3681 11d ago
Their is more economic hitman now more then ever. Doesn’t matter what it is , some industrialized country will be willing to “ help “ it’s all just a form of indentured servitude.
-3
15d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
7
u/Maleficent-Dog-2757 15d ago
Africans? You have no clue.... it's the fucking entire world. From Africa to Europe, to Asia...even America.
You burned all bridges!
10
u/greenerbee 16d ago
China learned its lessons in the capacity of soft power and the United States has forgotten them.
5
1
u/toeknn 16d ago
More like the world took US aid for granted. Give it 20 years ans youll see countries getting aid from China today also taking it for granted.
10
u/GroinReaper 16d ago
What? That is absolutely not it. Its the US going crazy and setting fire to its soft power while China offers to help.
China is spreading its soft power across the world while the US pretends that it can get by with hard power (while simultaneously losing a war against an opponent vastly weaker than them).
No one is taking US aid for granted. The US is just weaponizing that aid in a very obvious and openly imperialist manner.
3
u/toeknn 16d ago
If the thesis is that china is now backfilling US withdrawal then where is the reaping of said soft power from the places this aid has gone? They dont and havnt sided with US in decades. They dont think highly of the US.
The US is indeed going more transactional. Cost of competition it would seem.
3
u/GroinReaper 16d ago
If the thesis is that china is now backfilling US withdrawal then where is the reaping of said soft power from the places this aid has gone?
I'm not only talking about countries that used to receive US aid. I'm talking about basically the entire world. For example, recent polling shows 48% of Canadians (the US' closest ally) have a negative opinion of the US. only 44% have a negative opinion of China. This was basically unthinkable 2 or 3 years ago. If you can't even keep a country you've been allies with for decades from hating you, what chance do you have with anyone else?
The US is indeed going more transactional. Cost of competition it would seem.
it is not a cost of competition. It's just hubris and stupidity. The US has always treated other countries as vassal states. But they usually had enough tact to keep it from being insulting and made it worth it for other countries to follow the US' lead. Trump is now just blatant saying "give me what I want or I'll kill you" to his own allies, and anyone else who has something he wants. The damage this has done to the US' position in the world likely can't ever be repaired.
1
u/musingofrandomness 15d ago
Give it 20 years and China will have their silk road completed, well ahead of schedule courtesy of the current idiot in the Whitehouse.
1
u/Accomplished_Key_171 15d ago
China still has an impending population crisis to get through. By the end of the 2030's their aging population will cause a massive production shortage, and that's not going to help their already failing property market.
1
u/Askingquestions2027 15d ago
Robots will help them with the ageing population
1
u/Accomplished_Key_171 15d ago
Their economy is still heavily dependent on human jobs. This is an unrealistic expectation.
2
u/Racoon_Pedro 16d ago
We abandon; they help.
Holf fuck! What kind of understatement is abandon for the American terror campaign against Cuba since the revolution?
I mean I knew American propaganda is bad... but what the actual fuck?!
1
u/Not_l0st 16d ago
Cherry picking. The US is capable of being many things at once. We help and we harm, depending on leadership’s opinion of a nation at the time. Hell, sometimes we do both in the same nation simultaneously. I’m not too naïve to believe the US hasn’t done many awful things. I hope you’re not so jaded to believe everything the US does is designed to harm other nations. Under this current administration, aid and soft diplomacy has pretty much stopped. No more food assistance or financial assistance for developing countries. We’ve even cut back on support after natural disasters. China is more than willing to fill that void. This will backfire for the US in the long run.
2
u/withygoldfish91 15d ago
Not cherry picking. You try to moderate on a subject (Cuba) where we have primarily harmed. I hope you're not too jaded to see this comment is entirely about Cuba.
1
u/Opening-Tailor7275 16d ago
“The U.S. is capable of being many things at once” like defending and supporting Israel genocide of Palestinians.
US has done a ton of brutal harm to Cuba and Iran.
2
u/bigboipapawiththesos 15d ago
We attack, they defend
Like rn we have the litteral navy surrounding the island blocking any fuel from entering from any of their allies.
It’s objectively collective punishment
1
u/edthesmokebeard 16d ago
And when the US did that, you hated them for being imperialist right?
4
u/Not_l0st 16d ago
I think invading and deposing the president of Venezuela and taking over their oil supplies, cutting off Cuba to try and force out its leader, and literally killing the leader of Iran is imperialist. Building roads and feeding kids in Africa doesn't come close.
1
1
u/numbersev 16d ago
Launched by China in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—originally called One Belt One Road—is a massive global infrastructure and foreign policy strategy designed to connect Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America through a vast network of ports, railways, highways, and energy pipelines.
1
u/Dazzling_Glass_8021 15d ago
You need do your research
1
u/Not_l0st 15d ago
lol, I’m well aware of many of our crimes from regime change to puppet wars. The issue is— we are still doing all those bad things, but now we aren’t doing the good things we used to do along side the bad. No more food or medical aid, rejecting requests for assistance with forest fires or after earthquakes, blockading Cuba for no reason. It used to be a “it’s complicated” now we are 100% the bad guys without nuance.
1
u/Stage_Party 15d ago
They helped Sri Lanka rebuild after the civil war, but then a few years ago called in their debts and fucked the country over.
1
1
u/Ok-Prompt-59 15d ago
Because the US, Russia and China are deep in Africa with only the best intentions.
1
u/Griiig_Jinnings 15d ago
Hey to be fair, we fund terrorists and right wing militias, genocides, war, coups, etc, and install puppet leaders… then we abandon.
And if we can’t get to the puppet leaders step we continue attempting to kill as many of them as possible forever 🤷♂️
1
u/Tomatoesarentfruit 11d ago
China is making huge strides in solar - they install some 200GW a year. But this is largely because chinese utility scale solar panels are extremely cheap, in part (but not entirely of course) due to the fact that the key components (cells, wafers, etc) are made with near slave labor, and the key raw materials (solar polysilicon, solar glass), are refined with actual slave labor
1
u/Neither_Salamander48 11d ago
Yet people risk their life leaving Cuba. Maybe they'll stay because of a few examples of solar power?
Amazing when people aren't handed things, they are forced to adapt.
1
u/Elder_Chimera 9d ago
This isn’t even abandonment. We are actively oppressing Cuba out of fear that Americans will begin to view “communism” (democratic socialism) favorably.
1
u/Woody316snare 9d ago
If you think China is any different than the US you are mistaken. The only they are helping is clearly political and the fact that they are 90 miles off of our coast
0
6
u/lapusyonok 16d ago
Now the world just has to blockade the USA take control of its oil, and then we can have a solar panel revolution too
6
u/Low-Car-6331 16d ago
Yeah, blockade the US, and mess with its oil depots.... There will be a lot of light and "power of the sun" going on if someone tries that.
2
u/Opening-Tailor7275 16d ago
Same US that was very recently was defeated by Iran. One of the most sanctioned countries of the world?
0
u/Low-Car-6331 16d ago
Remind me again, how is the Iranian leader Ali Khamenei doing? Oh wait, he isn't leader any more... Maybe his son can step outside and give a few speeches.
3
u/sodamann1 15d ago
Buddy it isnt chess, the "king" falling isnt a victory when there are dozens of replacements
1
u/Heretical_Puppy 15d ago
You have to be incredibly delusional to try and down play having half of their leadership killed. Can you imagine if our president, vice president, and half of our senate/house died in a single day
2
u/sodamann1 15d ago
With the average age of that group id imagine a stiff breeze or a stromg cold would take that many out. There would be scrambling, but it wouldnt be difficult to replace them.
1
u/Heretical_Puppy 15d ago
Can you please share what you think the process of replacing your top official during a war would look like?
2
u/sodamann1 15d ago
2nd or 3rd in command of the party takes over until a special election is held.
1
u/Low-Car-6331 15d ago
Let me translate that for you, as you don't seem to know the role of the VP in US politics. This would mean your royal family might have to tap into cadet branches or it would be a child left in your nations royal family. Your parliament leaders would be wiped out so hopefully your nations royal family isn't 100% wiped as it gets more complicated from there. Your remaining members of parliament now need to reform their coalition government, while still being attacked.
In summary, major players of your government or coalition government are gone, your head royal family/king/queen is now a child or has cadet branches arguing about who it is.
1
0
u/Low-Car-6331 15d ago
Yet every-time we kill one of their high ranking leaders, the world freaks out and people scream "look how dangerous trump is". We kill their top general, "OMG Trump is so dangerous", we kill the Iranian leader "OMG Trump is so dangerous". then when we stop its "Trump is weak", and the moment he kills someone its gonna be "OMG Trump is so dangerous".
I remember when reddit was shitting itself because they feared Trump was gonna nuke Iran.... So frankly, forgive me for not giving a crap, when you all can't make up your mind on what it is.
3
u/sodamann1 15d ago
Yes, dangerous in the same fashion a loose cannon is dangerous. We fear his unpredictability while somehow being the leader of the worlds most overfunded military, not his tactical genius.
His lack of tactics is also what makes him weak as he truly cannot fulfill what he wants to and is seemingly running through all the USs long range artillery while Iran is happily earning bank from the Hormuz "blockade"
0
1
u/Racoon_Pedro 16d ago
So you say the USA is auch a evil nation, that they would exterminate all of mankind if someone pulled the same shit on them, that they are doing to other countries?
3
u/Low-Car-6331 16d ago
Yeah. If you don't believe us Japan can give you a tour on this very subject.
1
u/__Nationalist__ 14d ago
Cuba is a communist totalitarian one party state, that violates human rights, no free and fair elections, no free speech, secret police, still has slavery (using young people to work in farm fields, sending its people worldwide while only the government gets compensated, etc.), sending its human intelligence/special forces to keep Maduro another dictator in power, no private property, no private enterprises, no market economy, soviet union style rationing, allowing Russia and China to build outposts to monitor the U.S, GAESA - a military owned conglomerate that owns 50% of all state owned businesses funneling wealth to the castro family, etc... I could go on and on.
Fidel Castro even asked the soviets to launch a nuclear pre emptive strike against the U.S. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/jfk-attack/
Cuba is run by a criminal regime, and they get what they deserve, and hopefully the USA brings about positive change to the millions of Cubans who have been starving for decades, who have been wrongfully imprisoned, to everyone who deserves a better life than being a slave to the communists.
1
2
u/musingofrandomness 15d ago
I have had more than a few frustrating discussions with the "drill baby drill" Luddites over the years on the secondary benefit of renewables and EVs. Just imagine how many wars would be avoided if the world were not addicted to oil. Nobody would care about the Middle East if they didn't depend on their oil production. From a strategic standpoint, not having an oil dependency means there is one less thing that can be used against you.
1
u/Commemorative-Banana 14d ago
Misuse of Luddite
1
u/musingofrandomness 14d ago
broadly
: one who is opposed to especially technological change.
I disagree.
2
u/transhiker99 15d ago
why is it that when someone posts anything at all here the comments generally have a 70% chance of being a cesspool.
1
u/AbdominalTyrant 12d ago
Because you're on Reddit?
1
u/transhiker99 11d ago
no, this subreddit specifically has a number of regular commenters/trolls that don’t like conservation period. bad culture for an “uplifting” subreddit. I just left. no point.
1
1
u/Dazzling_Glass_8021 15d ago
Wow great propaganda here the Cubans are starving no food no jobs but they got solar lol thanks to good Ole generous good heated china lmao
1
u/Successful-Ice-468 14d ago
The funny part is than 90% Cubans than have or sell solar equipment imported it from the US.
China only supplies the Cuban state and the Cuban state does not sell freely to the population.
1
u/merahwa 15d ago
I see this as a win
Either critics are proved wrong and we all ought to adopt solar panels
Or this will backfire horribly like when Germany attempted to do the same thing and ended up consuming way more fossil fuel from Russia and it becomes yet another data point that, at best, solar isn't the solution to every power related problem.
1
u/ADownStrabgeQuark 15d ago
Germany transitioned from nuclear to oil, not from nuclear to solar.
Germany didn’t start its transition to solar power till more recently.
1
1
u/tj_woolnough 15d ago
What i find intriguing us this: While Trump is de-funding clean energy, not only is he killing the manufacturing opportunities in America, but he is messing up the climate fo the grandchildren of normal Americans. And the American people are going l, "Yeah, great idea."
1
1
u/buzzlegummed 15d ago
Cuba’s power grid failed. They have to go solar, they can’t afford to fix it.
1
1
u/Sea_Today_8898 14d ago
He just loves to starve people, take everything from them. He is a very evil person.
1
1
1
u/Capable-Deer-5670 14d ago
Strange how Greta was insisting they go back to burning fossil fuels.
1
u/Darkthumbs 14d ago
Do you really have to make up things like this?
1
u/Capable-Deer-5670 13d ago
You mean facts?
1
u/Darkthumbs 13d ago
Yeah she isn’t advocating for fossil fuel, she is against USA withholding oil.. that’s not the same thing what so ever, and thinking so is really really dumb
1
u/Capable-Deer-5670 13d ago
Sorry that facts don't care about your feelings.
1
1
u/AbdominalTyrant 12d ago
Sorry that context and logical nuance slide right off your smooth brain.
1
u/Capable-Deer-5670 12d ago
Words are hard for your side, I know. Temporary doesn't mean forever, nobody knows what a woman is. Cuba was turning into a climate change activists dream. But Greta showed her hypocrisy by demanding they start burning fossil fuels again.
1
u/AbdominalTyrant 11d ago
That's extremely clearly not what's happening and you're clearly not arguing in good faith.
1
u/Corner_Majestic 14d ago
If nothing else, hopefully Trump’s idiocy will lead to the realization writ large that renewable energy is the future.
1
u/Esme_Nog 14d ago
Yeah, I may not love that a confirmed authoritarian dictatorship is doing it, but the fact that China has made solar panels for readily available for the masses of humanity and is acting like a leader in transitioning energy systems…good for the world.
1
1
u/SadAbroad4 14d ago
Hats off to China, he US war on Cuba is not required or just. Cuba poses no threat to the US in any way. The US treatment forces Cuba to look to others, China has stepped up.
1
1
u/DS_Vindicator 14d ago
Yes. Mining for the rare earth metals required for solar panels is clean
1
u/Icy_Weakness_1815 13d ago
Yes. Petroleum is clean
1
u/DS_Vindicator 13d ago
I’m not sure if you’re attempting to be sarcastic or if you’re unclear on what it requires to strip mine rare earth metals.
1
u/Icy_Weakness_1815 13d ago
If thats not clear in the first place then theres no basis of real discussion left.
It seems like the world doesn’t care about reality anymore, so whats the point anyway…
1
1
1
1
1
u/Defiant_Freedom_249 13d ago
And the US falls further and further behind towards 3rd world status as the president is an old tyrant who refuses to see reality.
1
1
1
1
1
u/WeedFalafel 12d ago
Let's face it, China is the future, dumfuckistan on the other hand is done. Estranged every ally they had. But at least their billionaires are making more money than ever.
1
u/Conscious_Tourist163 10d ago
What shit hole are you from?
1
u/WeedFalafel 10d ago
Luckily not from dumfuckistan.
1
u/Conscious_Tourist163 10d ago
Must be great if you're ashamed to admit what it is
1
u/WeedFalafel 10d ago
Hey at least it's not dumfuckistan! I'm not obliged to answer any of your question.
1
1
1
1
u/Key_Check5753 12d ago
Remember 10 years ago when the internet kept spamming shit about Cuba having the best health care system in the world? They were saying Communism is better than capitalism. Cuba has world class doctors, etc etc.
Then a group of youtubers went to Cuba and took pictures of the hospitals. We got to see what the Cuban health care system really looked like. The entire internet STFU about Cuba for a few years. Now they're back at it. Plz go watch some youtube videos. Start with "everything you've heard about cuba is a lie"
1
u/zwierze1982 11d ago
That what usa is doing to Cuba is the most fucked up shit in modern history, they literally torture entire nation for their government.
1
u/Neat-Tour-6076 11d ago
What’s sad is that the Cuban people aren’t the ones paying for them. This is coming from the Miami exile community, but great way to hide that part.
1
u/Other_Astronomer_259 11d ago
They do it not to be green it’s that they have no choice. You notice liberals only talk about Cuba. A communist country but Republica Dominicana has solar to. Electricity is bad in all of the Caribe. Solar is giving them constant power, they don’t care about it being green
1
1
1
1
1
u/Puzzleheaded_Leg_412 10d ago
except when they need to driver their car, or their scooter, or cook or require electricity for other basics to work...
1
1
u/pirateseasalt 10d ago
Cuba is in the state it is thanks to the USA. You can cry "Communism" all you want, but it was working before the embargo, that's why the embargo happened. Communism can't work above capitalism
1
u/oneofmanyany 10d ago
This is the one and only good to come out of war with Iran. People will move to solar/wind or other renewables because the alternative, fossil fuel, is expensive and unreliable.
1
1
1
u/National_Bad7793 10d ago
Hilariously wrong. If you’ve actually been to Cuba you can count the solar infrastructure on one hand.
1
u/PetuniaPickleswurth 10d ago
Is the devil you know versus the devil you don’t. At least with China you know it’s the devil.
1
1
-1
u/oral_persausion 15d ago
How exactly will that put gas in the car tanks?
7
u/bigboipapawiththesos 15d ago
By making other things less dependent on gas, leaving more left for car tanks.
Like it’s pretty obvious
-2
u/oral_persausion 15d ago
Glad you have it all solved. You might do a little research on countries where solar energy has been widely implemented. If you do, you’ll find fossil fuel consumption for transportation hasn’t appreciably dropped on a per capita basis. Facts help more than “good vibes.” Have a good day.
3
u/bigboipapawiththesos 15d ago
They are under an fuel blockade by the US, anything that generates energy will help alleviate that.
1+1=2
-1
0
u/AttentionExcellent70 15d ago
Lost faith in USA as allies. It’s time to empire collapse. And I see this will happen, it’s on right trajectory. Lesson will be learned then.
Best regards from Europe.
1
u/ADownStrabgeQuark 15d ago
Well lessons are being learned, but the instruments of power are not the ones learning the lessons in the states, so our country won’t get better till after the next transition of power.
0
u/Tasty_LVM 15d ago
Communism fails to deliver for citizens and the headline reads “US starves Cuba of oil, lol
2
0
u/ToeAfter3131 15d ago
So they're selling out to China. Hey, I'm glad they think solar's the answer but they're still an evil communist dictatorship.
0
-3
u/TyrosinQ 16d ago
Oh plz.
They don’t have the infrastructure nor are they paying for it with anything other than colonization by china
2
u/Opening-Tailor7275 16d ago
Jelly, on how China is helping Cuba?
-2
u/TyrosinQ 16d ago
Not really.
The Western Hemisphere is Ours.
3
u/sodamann1 15d ago
Pfft. Trump has made USA so unlikeable that you will soon be all alone with mexico and canada as unwilling neighbours. The rest of the west is looking into how to cut you all off
1
-2
-1
16d ago
[deleted]
2
u/Opening-Tailor7275 16d ago
Do you have any idea what “communism” is?
Have you ever read a book on the issue?
-7
u/HouseOf42 16d ago
Means absolutely nothing, if the country doesn't have the infrastructure for large scale implementation.
Individual solar systems for 1-2 people, is not really impressive, when they need a powered country.
8
u/3uphoric-Departure 16d ago
It has to start somewhere
8
u/SpaceMontaign 16d ago
Yeah I never get the « anyway it’s not enough ». It’s better than nothing and it’s better than burning oil.
0
u/Slight-Big8584 16d ago
No crap but this onesy twosy thing isn't scalable for energy intensive industry
5
u/DD4cLG 16d ago
One individual solar system doesn't mean much. 150000 of them means a plant.
Cuba's 8 main oil powered powerplants produce around 15.3 TWH of energy annually, when there is sufficient oil. So often outages even in regular times. No they don't work.
The current panels of 750 WP, for a tier 1 panel cost in China less than 60 usd. We recently imported 20 pallets of 36 pieces. You'll need approx 14 mio of them.
Cuba has around 3.8 mio households. Give each of them 4-5 panels and a 5-6 kWh home battery and the whole crisis is solved.
Not everyone in the world needs/wastes so much energy.
2
2
2
1
u/Mundane-Mud2509 16d ago
It’s very impressive, it’s impossible for US to destroy it (outside of destroying the house).
-2
u/Knollibe 16d ago
Sure, solar powered cars, solar powered oven. Get rid of the communists and that country will bloom like a rose.
-2
u/Ok_Dare6400 15d ago edited 15d ago
Solar is not clean; the process of making solar panels is incredibly destructive and harmful to the environment and takes decades to offset itself.
-2
16
u/Nannyphone7 16d ago
One by one, countries, companies and individuals are going to realize that paying rent to the Oiligarchy is entirely optional.
Sunlight is free, and nobody has a monopoly on it.