Dear Science,
Why can’t we get away from oil? Didn’t it quadruple in price in
about a year? Where are all the alternatives? I can’t believe this is
all just one gigantic conspiracy. Help me, Science! Light my world.
Heat my house. Just do it without oil!
Eco Hog
Why oil? Because it’s a really excellent way to store, transport,
and use energy. Petroleum holds huge amounts of energy in small
volumes and masses—making it one of densest sources of
energy. The energy stored is incredibly stable—lasting for
millennia without loss—making it easier for us to store or
transport. The stored energy is readily useable, as fossil-fueled
machines are less
complex than machines using most other energy
sources.
Any one alternative can’t do all of these things. Let’s talk
numbers, comparing the equivalent amount of energy stored in batteries
to a
gallon of gas. It takes about 2,000
fully charged NiMH D
batteries to store the same energy contained in one gallon of
gasoline. The 2,000 batteries weigh about 57 kilograms; the gallon of
gas weighs about 3 kilograms. Making batteries requires toxic metals
and complex chemistry; a gas tank can be made by pressing common metals
or molding plastic. The batteries weigh the same charged or empty,
while the gas tank gets lighter as the energy is used up. If you’re
picking an energy source for a car, which would be
your
choice?
How about building a power plant? With a fossil-fueled plant, you
have to consider both the initial (capital) costs to build the plant as
well as the operating costs to buy the fuel. Yes, you have to buy the
coal, oil, or gas to run the plant, but at least this cost is spread
out over years. If you want to build a solar- or wind-powered plant,
almost all the costs are up-front capital costs. If the wind doesn’t
blow or the sun doesn’t shine where you chose to build your plants,
you’re totally out of luck. By
concentrating the costs right
at
the start, the risks of building an alternative-power plant are
higher. If you’re an investor—and given
the financial
turmoil right now, you’re probably a little skittish as an
investor—what kind of plant would you rather have your money
tied up in?
But we must replace petroleum. All of the fossil fuel consumed in
just one year of our global society is about equal to half a millennium of the plant and animal growth of ancient
earth. Replacing oil will take the combination of
several
different technologies to overcome the relative deficiencies in the
available alternates. Or it will require us to develop an
alternative—perhaps through bioengineering—that matches
petroleum. In either case, science
is optimistic.
Substitutingly Yours,
Science
It would be nice if we could invest about $1 trillion in alternative energy research but I guess we are spending that on bailing out Wall Street. If we make the commitment, we could do it, but we have no money. Oh yeah, I forgot about Iraq and more tax cuts for the super rich.
You imply that alternative energy sources can replace oil. No way, not at our current rates of consumption. Why can’t folks accept that we all must use less energy?
The exponential function must have its way with us eventually.
We simply cannot consume our way out of an overconsumption problem, so this grasping at technofixes is not only fruitless, but counterproductive.
Modern civilization? You’re goin’ DOWN!
The author did not mention that the concentration of (atomic) energy in matter is 2 billion times higher than the concentration of (caloric) energy in oil. “Petroleum holds huge amounts of energy in small volumes and masses”??? Try uranium. And radioactive waste may be less immediately threatening than global warming.
Technology and energy consumption is the result of almost 8 billion people on the planet. What the hell else are we going to do?
Keep breeding cause Jebus tells you to!
I agree Matt. Malthus was not wrong about the out come, just the timing. It’s hard to lower your environmental foot print but it is easy to make sure they stop with you. Some of us have to stop breeding. I will. But that doesn’t mean I can’t practice breeding…who wants some practice?