Alternative energy?
What do you think will happen once oil and natural gas start becoming really scarce? I read somewhere that the world could survive with 20/30% less energy because so much is wasted but then what? What if the supply decreases by 75%?
Judging by prices alone i would say that current supply is at best “tight” and will slowly decrease worldwide in the years to come.
Will alternative energies, even the ones that supposedly work (and they might not), be at least available when needed?
Garden Hose Guide
Tags: Alternative Energies, Alternative Energy, Current Supply, Natural Gas
We will both be dead, or close to death, when the oil runs out. I think that the big move will be towards electric cars and trams. I’m not sure what will happen to the planes, since they probably can not run on electricity.
We will probably end up using corn based cellulose for plastics and chemicals.
People will starve and abandon the cities. Humanity will re-ruralise.
Like a bunch of cockroaches, humanity will progress.
Oil could run out in a short of a time as 20 years, but natural gas should last much longer. Our country has a ton of coal and natural gas, so if worst comes to worst we can always turn to them. When those run out however, we will have nuclear energy as a clear option. Ethanol, Wind, Solar, and Hydrogen Fuel Cell energy are all in their fledgling stages and haven’t yet proven that they are viable. I truly believe that our country will definitely be ready once fossil fuels cease to exist just because the plethora of options and the plethora of knowledge that scientists and other people have.
The more scare fossil fuels become, the higher the price. The higher the price, the more attractive substitute goods (like alternative fuels) will become. We will not just “run out of gas” one day. The cost will get higher and higher over time. This will prompt people to change behavior and it will create incredible incentive to move from a fossil-fueled based economy to alternative models including nuclear.
The only major risk is that developed nations will “prop up” the existing hydrocarbon economies and stall the development of new alternative energies and technologies. As evidenced by the actions related to sectors like agriculture, this is always a danger. The advantage of free market is that businesses are already thinking about it.