Fossil fuels will undoubtedly be depleted in the near future. And though most of us have heard of the alternatives (wind, solar, electric, nuclear), society usually selects one specific natural resource to power our industrialized world. What do you think it will be? Please qualify your statement.
"Fossil fuels will undoubtedly be depleted" is the voice of the media.
There isnt one single tap for fossil fuels. It requires extensive engineering to get them out of the ground. As there become less and less sources the price will go up and the production of energy will move to other forms.
I don’t think that the society is looking for the usual single resource this time, and its a wise choice.
Unless regulations change in favor of nuclear, I believe that geothermal will be the largest source of power in 2050.
Mexicans: there’s PLENTY of them.
XD
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mono-atomic gold.
it’s already being used…no one here really knows that
here is an interesting read: http://users.rcn.com/zap.dnai/super001.html
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I wouldn’t say the "near future". There are VAST quantities of oil that exist in the world, but just aren’t economical to get at right now.
I’d say that the most realistic form of energy in the future would be nuclear, followed by fusion. Nuclear is, even now, incredibly safe and efficient. Fusion, however, is even moreso…and it’s expected that we’ll have a working fusion power plant by 2050.
Cars will more than likely run on electricity, although that’s obviously not feasible right now due to lackluster battery technology.
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"electric" isn’t an energy form. It’s a method of transport. (and so is "hydrogen").
My guess is both wind and solar: people are irrationally biased against nuclear power, even though it’s environmentally cleaner, safer and cheaper.
Wind on the seas and hills, solar on plains and in cities.
Most certainly not plant oil: if we do, people will starve.
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In the short term it will probably be Methane Clathrates, methane deposits frozen in permafrost and under deep sea, these contain more usable energy than other fossil fuels combined. They have not been exploited before now as it was prohibitively expensive but as other fuels become more expensive to extract, development of clathrate reserves will look more attractive, this has the potential to release huge amounts of methane into the atmosphere, a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. It might be possible to extract and use the clathrate reserves without this damage if they are treated carefully however, this might not happen though if it adds cost to gas extraction
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radioactive elements
A small amount of radioactive element (in mg) can produce a large amount of heat.
also it is environmental friendly since it does not produce harmful byproducts such as smoke or sulfur.
The only worry about it is the possibility of leakage of radioactive radiation!
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"Fossil fuels will undoubtedly be depleted" is the voice of the media.
There isnt one single tap for fossil fuels. It requires extensive engineering to get them out of the ground. As there become less and less sources the price will go up and the production of energy will move to other forms.
I don’t think that the society is looking for the usual single resource this time, and its a wise choice.
Unless regulations change in favor of nuclear, I believe that geothermal will be the largest source of power in 2050.
References :
http://www.aurorapower.net/alternative-energy.aspx