An interesting article by Fareed Zakaria titled Free At Last deals with the prospect of an energy solution in the future. Raising efficiency is the key; there is no single solution. The revolution that must occur is not technological but “one of attitudes and ideas.” It is estimated that by the year 2050 the human population will exceed 9 billion – and we will need twice as much energy. While it may be true that we need to wean ourselves from our oil addiction, oil will still play a role in the energy mix of the future. Mr. Zakaria argues that instead we will need every available source of energy and “disciplined application of technologies that already exist.” The trick is to be able to find abundant energy at low cost (including the hidden costs to the environment or in the social or military spheres). In addition, we need to limit our waste (and the energy used to dispose of it) by making everything either biodegradable or totally recyclable.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Future Energy Mix
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it is hard to avoid sounding like a eugenics proponent when talking realistically about the human population, but let's get real. this is out of control. There is no need for a couple to have more than one kid. I know everyone with siblings may resent this idea, but the fact is unless we can curb and reverse the direction of our population, many lives will be lost to things such as famine and disease due to the overcrowding. Human kind needs to take responsibility. We have had sterile sex available for years, we must begin using it!
ReplyDeletethink about it. Whats the bigger carbon footprint, or to be more accurate, what leaves the biggest ecological footprint [since carbon is only one of many contributors to a degrading environment. So whats the biggest ecological footprint, one left by someone driving a hummer, or by someone who has four kids. Think about it. Mother earth can only support so much.
We must get our population under control. Not by death but by responsible life.
I agree completely, and hadn't thought about the ecological repercussions of overpopulation, but there's certainly more waste coming from a family than a single automobile. I think we need to be a bit more confrontational about the slow (but significant) weaning of oil usage, because we debate how long the remaining supplies will last us, but it is nonrenewable and the population is growing. We can't know for sure in an uncontrolled set of circumstances how quickly we will exponentially consume in the future. I think it needs to get put aside, especially when there are so many examples of renewable sources being pushed further than a Green Day feature experiment (http://www.pickensplan.com/act/). That link is for oil tycoon T. Boone Picken's current solar power ventures. He's a pretty no bullshit guy from what I've seen. He acknowledges he stands to profit and that he is a capitalist, but he sees the tide for change and responsible power options.
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