Last week, the Harvard Press ran an article by Erica Schwiegershausen about Bill and Sydney Blackwell’s concerns on life after peak oil. Where will we find enough energy to satisfy society’s needs? The discovery of oil peaked in the United States in the 1960s and estimates are it will peak in the world somewhere between 2010 and 2015. New, small discoveries will be made, but we are told that the major discoveries are over. It is doubtful that wind, solar, nuclear, geothermal, gasohol, or hydrogen will, in the near future, satisfy the demands. All of these will undoubtedly play a part, but need more research and development just to supply currently anticipated shortfalls.
Wind and solar energy require large land areas; nuclear presents tremendous waste-storage concerns; gasohol production requires irrigation, and the aquifers of the Midwest are being depleted at a scarily rapid rate. The rise of hydrogen as a future fuel has possibilities for fuel cells that produce electricity with greater efficiency than a car engine, and the only pollutant is water. Electrical generators and cars are currently in existence, but the high cost of extracting hydrogen from water and other sources is a stumbling block. Breakthroughs will come, but when?
Geothermal is currently in use where the heat from the earth’s interior reaches close to the earth’s surface, such as in Iceland and western areas of our own country. Perhaps we could tap into heat sources along the oceanic ridges.
Given time, science will produce the needed developments, but the crucial question of time remains. Forty years ago, the earth’s population was approximately 3 billion. It is now at a little over 6 billion and we are told that it will double by 2050. We probably won’t be here, but our kids and grandkids will be. It appears that energy sufficiency will probably be realized only if something is done regarding population growth.
Alcon Chadwick
Woodside Road
