Is ditching fossil fuels entirely a reasonable goal?

Something remarkable happened in California during the day of April 28: The most populous state in America met 73 percent of its electric power needs from renewable energy sources, mostly solar and wind.

That doesn’t even count the gobs of largely off-grid electricity generated by residential rooftop panels in the state – supplies that are poised to surge thanks to a new regulatory mandate that all new homes generate solar power.

So is California heralding a new era of abundant clean energy – and fast “decarbonizing” its economy by leaving fossil fuels behind? 

Not so fast. The reality is that, as some states seek to adjust their energy profile in response to