The alternatives are horrifying?

Question

When it comes to discussing what is going to happen

when oil runs out, the loudest argue adopting renewable energy

is a horrifying prospect - it's inadequate etc.

But if we turn our attention to:

What will solar energy / collectors and storage devices

be like in the year 3000...

maybe we'd move the debate,

and our reality, on

cos, once identified ~

we could produce now...

What do you think?

I've made a start, putting down my design ideas.

Please take a look:

http://www.the-alternative.org.uk

See: Chapter 6: Energy / Solar

Answer 1

Alternative energy has made large improvements in the last couple of years, with the introduction of vertical wind generators, and nanosolar.

http://peswiki.com/index.php/Directory:V...

http://www.nanosolar.com/

Answer 2

I've always wondered why there seems to be so much hostility towards people who want to find a way to pollute less. How can this be a bad thing. Yes, some of the alternatives we have are stop gap measures, but their designs will improve and guide others to designs that can be a true solution.

I don't understand most of the technical things that go into the production of energy, but it only takes common sense to understand that if we can make electricity from something that doesn't have to be forced from the ground and doesn't release large amounts of pollution it has to be better than what we are doing now.

Answer 3

We humans of course need to invest in altenative, clean ways of manufacturing energy.  Technology only improves.

Example:  I'm an avid collector of books.  One type of book I enjoy collecting are old cookbooks.  One of my cookbooks is from 1910.  I was reading through it a few months ago, when it suddenly stuck me...there were no temperatures given, or even very many times.  It didn't say, "Put the cake in at 350 degrees for 25 minutes."  The book says things like "place in a medium warm oven, until a straw can be pulled cleanly from the center of the cake."

In 1910 of course everyone was cooking on wood, or coal fired cook stoves.  There was NO electricty for cooking with.

Things advanced....technology improved.  The exact same thing will happen with wind, solar, and tidal alternative energies.  Perhaps they are not that efficient now, nor that cost effective.  But if we do not invest in them, they NEVER will impove.

The altenative is we wait, until oil is a huge crisis, or the population has grown so much, that the current wind, solar, and tidal energies are cost effective.  However if we start investing in them right now, we humans will be leaps and bounds ahead.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Answer 4

I'm probably the only conservative on this part of yahoo answers so please understand I dont want to affend you..I agree, we should explore alternative energies however, for the time being, oil powers many important equiptment like the ambulances that drive the wounded to hospitals and basically our whole military operations rely on oil.So far, I just dont think theres an alternative.