Could we really sustain energy needs in America with our resources?

Question

Could we? We have coal, and to my knowledge not very much oil (peak oil in 1970's)...I don't know about natural gas, but really seems like renewables can't support a freaking town let alone cars, def not planes, and all the other materials that modern life has, it's bullcrap! Seems like we are royaly f'd over here...But seems like people have alot of faith in renewables but I don't think people realize that getting rid of fossil fuels would mean no plastics, Insecticides, tires, pain pills (think of a world without pain pills!!), oil filters (ironicly), shampoo, toothpastes, fertilizers, adheasives(all glue), linolum, most fabrics, food preservators...I mean it's endless, we are screwed...

Answer 1

1- Huge coal reserves - can be obtained without mines

2- Underground areas of high heat that can turn water to steam

3- Nuclear fusion - holds much promise

4- Nuclear power - underused

5- Many areas of oil deposits that have not been tapped.

Private industry needs to be the leaders in this because the government is too political.  Trump, Murdoch, Gates, and Buffett could finance this.  Build an energy research park and get the best scientists and engineers.  Then you will see something.

Answer 2

Yes we can.  Will we is doubtful.  A developing country, Brazil, does not import oil.  Germany, not noted for an abundance of sunny days leads the world in the per capita production of solar power.  With one of the worlds largest coastline we have only glanced at using wave and tidal forces for energy production.  Likewise for wind power.  There is a well founded leeriness about nuclear power, but we should look at it.  Conservation is the same as new energy sources and we do it only to small scale compared with the rest of the developed countries.  You're right that oil is used more than for just energy, if we create more energy without oil then that leaves more for plastics etc...

If we embarked on a high priority program toward energy self sufficiency similar to what JFK did with space program in the 60's then yes we could sustain our energy needs with our resources.  Again doubtful it will happen

Answer 3

Nuclear fission is the answer.  France uses OUR technology in reusing spent cells rather than bury it.  We are being held back by old laws here in Calif which prohibit the conversion of plutonium.  Enviornmentalists, Sirra Club, and their likes have been the driving force in stopping the building of new plants.  Coal is not the answer.  It's very harmful to the enviornment and we have not done enough to make plants "clean".

Answer 4

We could do it all in the amazon river, do you have ANY idea how much energy that river makes? Or how much we actually harness? Or how much we could be harnessing???

Answer 5

solar and wind energy is know where near its potential for providing energy,imagine all the roof tops from commercial and industrial sites and cover them with solar panels the power available would be limitless,and just imagine the possibilities for wind turbines

Answer 6

A North American alliance could sustain our energy needs with conservation measures and a step up in utilizing alternative energy sources.

Ye have little faith in the brainpower of our citizens when we have our backs to the wall.

Answer 7

You're right that life EXACTLY as it is today cannot be sustained.  But then we built everything around dirt cheap fuel.

Renewables are laughable because we never really bothered to develop them.  Contrast that to automobiles which are refined to the 900th power and we are going through ANOTHER evolution of design.  If we make that kind of investment in alternative power, we'll be printing solar panels like newspapers and punching out windmills like B-29's in World War II.  

Nobody's talking about getting rid of fossil fuels.  We're talking about getting rid of most of the volume of our IMPORTS and our use of it as fuel.  America still pumps some oil, an with our good neighbors in Canada, there's more than plenty to make all the non-fuel products we need.

Maybe the Shah of Iran (an ally) will be proven right after all: "Oil is so valuable for making products, I can't believe you burn it as fuel!"