The breakdown of modern civilization

For the most part, modern civilization is extremely reliant upon fossil fuels. They power our entire transportation infrastructure, give us electricity and heat, and allow us to use our current communications devices (telephones, internet, etc.).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_oil

Either we have already passed, or are nearing, the point of peak oil production (the point where we are able to produce the largest amount of oil). If we have not passed it yet, then we are very close to it. After we pass it, with each year that goes by, there will be less oil for a growing population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_fuel

Alternative fuels (bio-diesel, wind power, solar power, etc.) are growing slowly, but at this point, cannot entirely replace fossil fuel usage. Chances are that they could not be used to fully power our civilization, but only to supplement whatever imperfect form of energy we currently use.

At our current rate of useage, we will run out of fuel for nuclear power plants within 50 years. Within a century, we will run out of oil, coal, and other such fossil fuels.

What does this mean? It means that, within the century, modern civilization will collapse, unless we start doing something NOW. There is no time for ridiculous political banter about the viability of the research concerning this, no time for committees to approve it, etc. If we do nothing, we will hit a new Dark Ages that will last (most likely) for a few hundred years. Most of you will be alive to see this happen.

For those of you who say that we would simply continue living, but as in earlier times (around 1800-ish), you are incorrect. We are too heavily invested in our current power sources to make the transition that easily.

Again, we need to act NOW! The United States has vast amounts of money being earmarked for ridiculous foreign wars (that will eventually be the undoing of the entire country), military advancement, paying the interest on the national debt, etc. TRILLIONS of dollars world wide could be put into developing a mainstream, viable alternative fuel.

So, my question to you: What should be done? What possibilities are there? Can we save ourselves from the impending disaster?

Discuss.

 

I suppose i'm quite ignorant in this topic,
however, I do not think it will be a disaster,

and you must remember that for around 30 years the prediction has been ''In 50 Years Time..''.

I also think the simple solution would be a simple change to Nuclear Power, like France.

Question: When Nuclear Power Runs Out?
Answer: By the time it has done so, technology will likely be so advanced that we will be able to extract significantly more energy from other Renewable Sources.

 

I think we should be putting more money into bio-diseal and plants for energy. Investing in a grown source of energy would be a wise investment seeing they could be regrown. Anyways this won't happen because we're already in too far with oil. And also, despite recent concerns, I don't think we'd run out of oil anytime soon, forget 50 years from now.

 

Chances are, however, that we have already passed the point of peak oil production. As demand grows, and supply decreases, the price of oil will simply become too high for it to become a viable energy source.

Also, if we switch completely to biofuel, we will need vast amounts of land to grow the plants. However, we also need land to live, and to grow our own food. Do we have enough space for all of those?

 

I think that we need to switch to nuclear fuel, but first we need to take the extra safety precautions. If the whole earth switched to nuclear power, there would obviously be many more nuclear power plants. If just one plant has an accident similar to the one at Chernobyl, widespread disaster would result. If there are more plants, thats more opportunities for an explosion or some other type of accident. But if we can refine our systems and procedures to reduce the possibility of error, then it would be a major help in solving our energy crisis.

 

Hopefully we'll find something better AND safe by the time this happens.

 

I know it sounds lame, but we should stop making plastic bottles right now. But seriously, we use millions of gallons of oil making fucking plastic bottles. Because people are lazy asses and REFUSE the recycle (for the most part). And we could save so much just by recycling the damn bottles. Also as for fuel, I think we should either use electric cars or solar powered (depending on where you live obviousl). And people should be encouraged to conserve now instead of later. I can see the world, 50 years from now, everyone bitching that it was "unexpected" and how they wish they would have known and whatever. If people would just use a little less. Ban recreational driving for one because seriously how much do racing organziartions use? And all for sport. And then stop selling cars that get less than 20-25 to the gallon. It is a waste. And a damn shame that people dont care.

 

yeah fossils fuels will be exausted so fast, for example japan puts 50 tons of coal in the air almost every week or day or someting I read this a while ago... THe smog is so thick people have to turn on there window wipers oto see. And it drifts all the way to california. We waste so much I think that nuclear power will take a little to long and wont be able to provide poer for everything I believe that solar power is only option we will have soon.

 

simply on the alternative energy not being good enough factor:

when the automobile was first introduced, it didn't burn oil, petrol or any natural gas. it burned ethanol.(sp?) untill it was discoverd the refining of crude oil to gas was alot cheaper of an energy source. e-85 ethanol is now cheaper to produce than natural gases. the problem: not enough people want in on this new market because it has failed in the past, and if you remember, the past will repeat its self.

we have the land, we are capable of removing unused land from places and taking portions of large plots in the united states so long as we give fair pay. there are hundreds if not thousands of farms where we could provide them with a nice settlement to plant large corn crops.(nesscacary for the production of e-85 ethanol.)

 

Yeah America can take anyone land as long as they pay ou for it a fair price, they can knock your home over and you cant do nothing, LOL so space isnt problem...

 

unfortunately america can take more or less whatever you have.. as long as they find something to support their need for it. but firstly i dont think biofuel is the answer. it very well could be but i think we would be better off with some other method of fuel. keep in kind that before all of the shit we have now, the world ran off of wind, and water. if need really be, we could do that again. not that it would be easy but in the know down, drag out end of the world, i feel like we might discover some of that potential that made the world run in the first place. the problem is mainly that people dont take the enviroment/lack of resources very seriously. its funny to say that people who care about it are tree-huggers and theyre all overreacting and have no idea what theyre talking about. its not true but you know, when has america been about honesty? most of the media finds more time to focus on terrorism and "plastic soldiers in a miniature dirt war" (jim morrison), something we cant control, than be telling us a way to actually help ourselves.
I think we should conserve what we have and try our damndest to find a better way. I think its likely they already have better alternatives but whose going to fuck with the undenaible authority that is the automobile market? politicians get a shitload of funding from places like general motors, they arent going to let out the hush hush secret that cars using gas will eventually be obsolete. I dont think land, or time, or technology will be an issue. I think pride, and stubbornness will.

 

Yeah, everyone is very stubborn, but it wont only be the politicians, people think that cars add to your penis, it really doesn't it just adds to your ego and everyone wants a nice car that the ladies will like. Everyone wants the clean burning grill. Noone will give up the image of themselves for the greater good. No matter how bad it can get. Thats how the great depression started...

 

A lot of thought is being put into finding alternate sources but none have come close to being good enough to replace fossil fuels. Most companies are now trying to make cars have a higher mileage but that wont help once we've completely exhausted natures resources. I think more money should be invested into wind and water power as those energy sources are reusable. I also think it would be smart to equipt all housing with solar panels so it could heat/cool itself using the suns energy. Store it up during the day and use it at night. It would work fine and you can also add some electricity from wind turbines and you got a house that can support itself.

 

Actually, what happened at Chernobyl is not likely to happen again. The scientists there turned off all cooling and safety systems, and the core melted. Personally, I wonder what was running through their minds when they decided to do this.

The United States alone has enough nuclear fuel reserves to last approximately another 30 years. However, if we put into breeder reactors the waste that our reactors produce, we could extend this to 50,000 years! That's assuming we find no more uranium, of course.

So yes, I agree with you. We need to convert to nuclear power where possible. If solar, wind, hydroelectric, or geothermal power is available, and viable, then obviously, we should use that to supplement our power grid, but I'm thinking that they will only supply a small part of the total.

Hopefully, that will buy us enough time to figure out a viable alternative to gasoline and diesel. >_>

 

Well, the price of oil and all those ohnoeswewilldie energy types will rise, at some point it will be cheaper to invest trillions of dollars in an alternative energy research than sell the remaining´s. You shouldn´t worry that much, like you said, demand and supply sets everything. Human limits, that´s an other story .