It seems the more we dig into energy concerns the worse things look all around. Peak Oil is looming more and more upon us, despite evidence to the contrary at the gas pump.
As any high school student should know, energy can not be created out of nothing. So we are stuck with converting existing energy sources into more useable materials. Which in turn takes still more energy. Until Perpetual Motion becomes a reality that is.
Oil
Oil has been known to man for thousands of years. But it was not until the invention of the automobile that it became widely used as an energy source. Before that it was used primarily as medicine and in some places as both a heating oil and a light source. It has even been reported as being used in the construction of the walls of Babylon.
Now days Oil is found in just about every product. If it has plastic of any type there is oil. In fact just about any manufactured good has Oil or an Oil byproduct as an ingredient. The bad news is that with Peak Oil, Oil Extraction is becoming much more expensive. Couple this with the Environmental costs of doing so and it starts to look extremely unattractive.
Coal
Coal has been in heavy use as an energy source for hundreds of years. It’s arguable that the Industrial Revolution and many of the items we take for granted these days would not have happened without the use of coal. It was heavily used in industry for steam engines (and trains,) and many houses burned coal instead of wood.
Coal has fallen out of favor due to it’s pollution aspect, and the fact that Oil was cheaper to produce. New methods of extraction, new methods of cleaning the loose hydrocarbons, and new methods of sequestering carbon have all helped increase it’s useful lifespan. But it’s peak is coming soon too.
Nuclear
Of all the energy sources used, Nuclear remains the most controversial of all. One side touts the efficiency of Nuclear Power. The other side gets upset about the radioactive waste.
The other option is Breeder Reactors. But then the terrorists would have access to weapon grade nuclear materials.
Wind
In my opinion wind power is actually one of the more promising technologies. It’s fairly cheap compared to other methods. Besides the manufacture of the turbine itself there is little to no carbon emissions. But people do not like the ugliness of the turbines, nor the shadows and noise they cause. Add in the increase infrastructure needed, the fact that a good size wind mill farm needs to be several hundred units, due to the fact that they need wind they can only be placed in certain locations, and the fact that wind power is not steady, then they do not look quite as appealing.
Biofuels
Biofuels, especially biodiesel have been around for just over 100 years. The ideal of using plant matter as a fuel is strongly attractive at first glance. After all, we have millions of tons of plant matter around that is “wasted” every year.
The downside is that the same vegetable matter that makes good fuel, is mostly for human consumption. Not only is it strongly suspected to have caused record food prices, and quite possibly takes more energy to produce then it gives. On the other hand it’s a good way to get rid of extra biomass.
Solar
In the long run I believe solar is going to be the technology we need to rely on the most. It relies on energy from the sun (which has roughly Four Billion years to go,) solar panels are becoming more efficient and cheaper by the day, and once the initial costs are paid for, it’s effectively “free” energy.
The only real downside is that it’s possible that too many solar panels might actually act to cool the Earth as all that extra energy is collected. This could be offset by orbital solar panels that beam power to Earth based stations. Which in turn would be a huge investment in technology, money and time.
There are several other alternative energy sources such as hydrogen and tidal power. Many of them still have a long ways to go from a technology stand point before they’re viable alternatives for mass consumption. Until that happens it’s really best to reduce electricity consumption all around. And wait for the politicians to sort it out.
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