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It remains to be seen if nuclear or renewables can really carry the kind of energy expenditure we had with oil by themselves, it's very easy to ignore hidden co
by Ambolia 4y ago
It remains to be seen if nuclear or renewables can really carry the kind of energy expenditure we had with oil by themselves, it's very easy to ignore hidden costs when you have a cheap energy resource that can cover them, not so easy when that crutch runs out.
There's no law of nature that says that if we run out of oil, we will find an alternative energy source, rather that just going back to a different type of civilization with a much lower energy usage where most of the economy is just food production.
Sometimes I wonder if all the decarbonization tales are just story we like to tell ourselves to pretend we are in control, rather than just becoming much poorer because oil is running out and there's nothing we can do about it.
On the other hand, if we want to go really dirty, I guess there's always coal, but many countries only have low quality reserves.
- wiz21c 4y agoLet's hope there is a huge gap between "soft" decarbonization and going back to the age of stone so we can at least manage some peaceful escape... But one thing is pretty sure, if we don't do anything, the problem will solve itself (which usually means war...)
- brabel 4y agoThe debate on whether renewables can account for 100% of society's needs has already been settled, apparently[1], and the answer is clearly yes. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100%25_renewable_energy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100%25_renewable_energy
- ravel-bar-foo 4y agoThe Wikipedia article reads like it was written by activists, and doesn't mention replacements for fossil fuels in food production or nitrogen fixation. Count me skeptical...
- dispat0r 4y agoYeah, as a German, I can say it works flawlessly. Cough France with its old, neglected reactor fleet is constantly more green(less co2) than Germany.
- Ambolia 4y agoI don't deny it may be possible, but I'd be interested in knowing: - What amount of natural resources (lithium for batteries, neodymium for wind turbines, ...) would be required, where would it come from, how would we transport it using renewable energy, ... - What's the EROI for each renewable energy source? Would it still be profitable if there are any unexpected maintenance costs or externalities? - Your link mentions "unsustainable energy consumption" as one of the issues, does that mean the transition will involve increased energy poverty?
- idlehand 4y agoOil isn't running out, the ability of our atmosphere to absorb greenhouse gasses is the limiting factor, not our access to oil reserves. We need to leave oil in the ground to preserve the climate.
- Ambolia 4y agoWell, the point of peak oil was never that oil will run out, just that it will get more expensive to extract it until the point where you have to spend more energy to extract it that what you get back. This may not be happening, but I see some suspicious signs: - Energy expenditure per capita in the US peaked in the 70s and hasn't gone up in 50 years. - Fracking companies have never made a profit. - Arabia Saudi has been pushed to extract more barrels since the war started, they haven't, in theory it's for political reasons but some experts mention that they may be unable to increase production any further.