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I'd like to also add, there is no feasible way everyone alive on Earth today may have a hot shower. It can't be done. This extends to other luxuries, too. This

I'd like to also add, there is no feasible way everyone alive on Earth today may have a hot shower. It can't be done. This extends to other luxuries, too. This is, fundamentally, an unanswered political question. There is no amount of technology short of pure magic that can help here. At some point, humans have to decide what a future looks like for us and the planet. At the moment, we choose not to.

toomuchtodo 4y ago
Enough sunlight falls on the earth every 2 minutes to power humanity for a year. Your assertion has no merit. Even if you have to desal or atmospheric extract water and then heat it, there is plenty of clean energy potential available. https://www.ku.ac.ae/two-minutes-of-sun-enough-to-power-a-year-s-usage-of-humanity-gulf-news https://www.ku.ac.ae/two-minutes-of-sun-enough-to-power-a-ye... > “Every two minutes, the energy reaching the earth from the sun is equivalent to the whole annual energy use of humanity. All the energy … the cars, lighting, and air conditioning of the world … in one year is equivalent to two minutes of the sun,” said Dr Lamya N. Fawwaz, vice-president for Institutional Advancement and Public Affairs at Masdar Institute at the 22nd SolarPaces Conference. (There are 525,600 minutes in a year)
- version_five 4y ago
  I don't know if I agree with the GP, but the existence of the energy is all but irrelevant. You almost might as well quote the amount of power the sun produces from fusion, the amount of wind, the amount of uranium, whatever. For everyone to have a hot shower, you need indoor plumbing, clean water, water heater, etc, all of which implies a standard of living which I think is the point. While there might be a weak rebuttal about outdoor showers, that would be "begging the question" - the point is that equality in standard of living is not possible (not agreeing or disagreeing, just pointing out that incident solar energy on the earth is irrelevant)

toomuchtodo 4y ago

Enough sunlight falls on the earth every 2 minutes to power humanity for a year. Your assertion has no merit. Even if you have to desal or atmospheric extract water and then heat it, there is plenty of clean energy potential available. https://www.ku.ac.ae/two-minutes-of-sun-enough-to-power-a-year-s-usage-of-humanity-gulf-news https://www.ku.ac.ae/two-minutes-of-sun-enough-to-power-a-ye... > “Every two minutes, the energy reaching the earth from the sun is equivalent to the whole annual energy use of humanity. All the energy … the cars, lighting, and air conditioning of the world … in one year is equivalent to two minutes of the sun,” said Dr Lamya N. Fawwaz, vice-president for Institutional Advancement and Public Affairs at Masdar Institute at the 22nd SolarPaces Conference. (There are 525,600 minutes in a year)

version_five 4y ago
I don't know if I agree with the GP, but the existence of the energy is all but irrelevant. You almost might as well quote the amount of power the sun produces from fusion, the amount of wind, the amount of uranium, whatever. For everyone to have a hot shower, you need indoor plumbing, clean water, water heater, etc, all of which implies a standard of living which I think is the point. While there might be a weak rebuttal about outdoor showers, that would be "begging the question" - the point is that equality in standard of living is not possible (not agreeing or disagreeing, just pointing out that incident solar energy on the earth is irrelevant)