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Spiderlove
Climate change is clearly having a breath taking effect on the climate. Fossil fuels are playing a big part in it. When do you think we will switch to renewable resources?
Harley is justr a bastard denier.
@Marly, global warming is about to get so bad we will be forced to switch.
Answer
There are various problems that need to be overcome first:
⢠There are vast sums of money invested in fossil fuel infrastructure such as the pipelines, refineries, oil tankers, oil rigs etc. Itâs not financially or economically viable to simply replace them in order to switch to alternative fuels, the costs would be prohibitively high.
Itâs more practical to replace existing infrastructure at the point when it becomes redundant or too expensive to maintain, weâre seeing major power companies going down this route but it will be a long and slow process.
⢠At present the cost of producing alternative fuels is generally more expensive than for conventional fuels. This is down to a combination of economies of scale and infrastructure investment. A lot of the capital investment that went into the fossil fuels industry has been repaid so now thereâs only the operating costs. With little surplus money in the global economy thereâs little inclination to invest long-term capital in alternatives infrastructure.
Itâs essentially a case of do you invest $1.00 now and get $1.20 back in five years, or do you wait 20 years and get $2.50 dollars back. The long-term investment provides a better return but few people have money to tie-up for long periods of time.
⢠The next problem concerns the fact that alternative fuels are limited in their application. Generating electricity via solar, geothermal, tidal, wave, wind etc and feeding it into the grid works well but electricity generation only accounts for a tenth of our greenhouse gas emissions.
At present thereâs no viable alternative to natural gas other than switching to electric. This is not only more costly but means replacing all gas cooking and heating appliances. I remember as a kid when the country (UK) switched from âtown gasâ to natural gas, it was a massive operation and meant replacing or amending every gas appliance in the country and much of the distribution infrastructure as well. In the long run it was worth it as the alternative is much cleaner and cheaper. However, I doubt the current economic appetite would welcome such a proposal, even if an alternative to natural gas were made available.
The thereâs the problem of motorised transport. There are some alternative fuels available for cars but these are limited by availability. They are however becoming more common and in the years to come we will probably see more and more vehicles powered by a variety of technologies such as hydrogen fuel-cells, carbon nanotubes, compressed air and batteries. This still leaves aircraft, shipping and trains.
As to your specific question of when will we switch to all renewable fuels: The process has already begun, albeit on a small scale. We are seeing greater investment in renewables and as the years go by more of our power and fuel demands look likely to be met this way. However, breaking our reliance on fossil fuels will require immense long-term investment and a great deal of new technology and the real crunch point seems likely to come when weâre left with no alternative due to diminishing resources.
The oil companies are notoriously reluctant to provide data about their reserves, worst-case scenario means we run out of oil in 40 years, best-case scenario is 100 years. It may well be that thereâs little change in our demand for oil for a few decades yet.
One big development on the horizon is the arrival of nuclear fusion, the type that doesnât explode or produce radiation. We can already do this in a controlled and small-scale capacity but there are some major hurdles to overcome before itâs commercially viable. The major issue is one of containment, it could be a few years of as many as 20 or 30 before weâve cracked this. Once achieved, fusion could easily supply the worldâs electricity demands for very little cost.
There are various problems that need to be overcome first:
⢠There are vast sums of money invested in fossil fuel infrastructure such as the pipelines, refineries, oil tankers, oil rigs etc. Itâs not financially or economically viable to simply replace them in order to switch to alternative fuels, the costs would be prohibitively high.
Itâs more practical to replace existing infrastructure at the point when it becomes redundant or too expensive to maintain, weâre seeing major power companies going down this route but it will be a long and slow process.
⢠At present the cost of producing alternative fuels is generally more expensive than for conventional fuels. This is down to a combination of economies of scale and infrastructure investment. A lot of the capital investment that went into the fossil fuels industry has been repaid so now thereâs only the operating costs. With little surplus money in the global economy thereâs little inclination to invest long-term capital in alternatives infrastructure.
Itâs essentially a case of do you invest $1.00 now and get $1.20 back in five years, or do you wait 20 years and get $2.50 dollars back. The long-term investment provides a better return but few people have money to tie-up for long periods of time.
⢠The next problem concerns the fact that alternative fuels are limited in their application. Generating electricity via solar, geothermal, tidal, wave, wind etc and feeding it into the grid works well but electricity generation only accounts for a tenth of our greenhouse gas emissions.
At present thereâs no viable alternative to natural gas other than switching to electric. This is not only more costly but means replacing all gas cooking and heating appliances. I remember as a kid when the country (UK) switched from âtown gasâ to natural gas, it was a massive operation and meant replacing or amending every gas appliance in the country and much of the distribution infrastructure as well. In the long run it was worth it as the alternative is much cleaner and cheaper. However, I doubt the current economic appetite would welcome such a proposal, even if an alternative to natural gas were made available.
The thereâs the problem of motorised transport. There are some alternative fuels available for cars but these are limited by availability. They are however becoming more common and in the years to come we will probably see more and more vehicles powered by a variety of technologies such as hydrogen fuel-cells, carbon nanotubes, compressed air and batteries. This still leaves aircraft, shipping and trains.
As to your specific question of when will we switch to all renewable fuels: The process has already begun, albeit on a small scale. We are seeing greater investment in renewables and as the years go by more of our power and fuel demands look likely to be met this way. However, breaking our reliance on fossil fuels will require immense long-term investment and a great deal of new technology and the real crunch point seems likely to come when weâre left with no alternative due to diminishing resources.
The oil companies are notoriously reluctant to provide data about their reserves, worst-case scenario means we run out of oil in 40 years, best-case scenario is 100 years. It may well be that thereâs little change in our demand for oil for a few decades yet.
One big development on the horizon is the arrival of nuclear fusion, the type that doesnât explode or produce radiation. We can already do this in a controlled and small-scale capacity but there are some major hurdles to overcome before itâs commercially viable. The major issue is one of containment, it could be a few years of as many as 20 or 30 before weâve cracked this. Once achieved, fusion could easily supply the worldâs electricity demands for very little cost.
poll: do you think it would be a good idea for America to adopt unemployment laws like the UK?
Q. Where people can collect dole from the government for years and never have to work.
Answer
Well those laws work just great in Ireland, our "dole" for an unemployed man in his 50s with a girlfriend who earns next to nothing and 2 teenage kids at home is $555 a week, yes a week, 378 Euros which is $555 of your American dollars.
That said once the mortgage, electric bill, telephone bill, fuel bill, TV licence, diesel for the car etc etc have have been paid and the fridge has been stocked with food for the week there ain't a lot left, Ireland is a very expensive place to live.
However you do get 20 Euro a week winter fuel allowance from Oct-March plus a double dole week for Christmas :) plus you get free medical/dental treatment, free kids bus to school, free school books and $700 "back to school" allowance for shoes and uniforms if you apply in the summer.
Also free training courses to get you back to work even
though there are no jobs.
Well those laws work just great in Ireland, our "dole" for an unemployed man in his 50s with a girlfriend who earns next to nothing and 2 teenage kids at home is $555 a week, yes a week, 378 Euros which is $555 of your American dollars.
That said once the mortgage, electric bill, telephone bill, fuel bill, TV licence, diesel for the car etc etc have have been paid and the fridge has been stocked with food for the week there ain't a lot left, Ireland is a very expensive place to live.
However you do get 20 Euro a week winter fuel allowance from Oct-March plus a double dole week for Christmas :) plus you get free medical/dental treatment, free kids bus to school, free school books and $700 "back to school" allowance for shoes and uniforms if you apply in the summer.
Also free training courses to get you back to work even
though there are no jobs.
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Title Post: When will we switch to all renewable fuels?
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Rating: 92% based on 925 ratings. 4 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
Thanks For Coming To My Blog
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