Can alternative energy effectively replace fossil fuels?

[Thief]

The cost lies in the devices used to convince those photons to gather together.
Even free energy isn't free if you want to convert it to electricity.

yep power on demand is elusive

so back to the breeder reactor
last i heard......it produces radioactive material that can be used in the next reactor to be built
unlike the current trend that produces waste that has to be buried for 500yrs

 

[james dixon]

There must be an easier way to cause this reaction. I think it is in the whelm of frequencies. If we can find and duplicate this frequency we can create perpetual energy; in my view -

 

[Guy Threepwood]

Can it?

I seem to remember this question in school, about 40 years ago!

The electric car market peaked over 100 years ago, hooking up windmills to batteries goes back way further than conventional modern power stations, solar panels have been around for decades.


There is a good reason 'alternatives' are still 'alternatives' after so long and so many billions of $ thrown at them. If they were ever viable they would have ceased to be 'alternatives' long ago.


Fossil fuels revolutionized industry, transport, farming, and standards of living worldwide, practically overnight without a penny in handouts- that's what a promising new technology looks like- and the viability gap between this and 'alternatives' has only grown ever since.

 

[DavidFirth]

Can alternative energy effectively replace fossil fuels?

Yes, as soon as people can figure out how to make it happen.

 

[Quagmire]

Yup. As soon as investment in alternative energy becomes as profitable as investing in fossil fuels. It can only overtake it from there.

It's already gaining ground: Who's funding the green energy revolution? - CNN.com

. . .or the auto industry wouldn't have bothered coming up with these:
Toyota Mirai – The Turning Point

Green Car Reports

 

[DavidFirth]

As soon as investment in alternative energy becomes as profitable as investing in fossil fuels. It can only overtake it from there.

It's already gaining ground: Who's funding the green energy revolution? - CNN.com

. . .or the auto industry wouldn't have bothered coming up with these:
Toyota Mirai – The Turning Point

Green Car Reports

We need to get Amazon behind it. They're taking over the world.

 

[james dixon]

.,,,Fossil fuels revolutionized industry, transport, farming, and standards of living worldwide, practically overnight .,,- and the viability gap between this and 'alternatives' has only grown ever since.

Your solution is no solution, just doom and gloom.

The fact remains, within 40 years all the known fossil fuels in the ground will be sucked up and gone; not to return. The question of the day is what are we going to do next-?

Not that I care. I will not be around when this happens so really, should I even care.

-

 

[DavidFirth]

The fact remains, within 40 years all the known fossil fuels in the ground will be sucked up and gone; not to return. The question of the day is what are we going to do next-?

Walk or ride bikes or horses?

 

[Quagmire]

We need to get Amazon behind it. They're taking over the world.

They'll never get me!!!

(says the guy who bought 2 Kindles in the last 3 months.)

 

[Quagmire]

We need to get Amazon behind it. They're taking over the world.

Actually, at the rate they're going, Amazon may solve the fuel crisis all by themselves, in that they're well on the way to creating a world where nobody ever has to leave their house.

 

[DavidFirth]

Actually, at the rate they're going, Amazon may solve the fuel crisis all by themselves, in that they're well on the way to creating a world where nobody ever has to leave their house.

Good point!

 

[Quagmire]

I think overcoming our dependence on fossil fuels will be seen by future generations as one of the major turning points in human history.

Just wonder how messy the transition is going to be.

 

[Twilight Hue]

View attachment 18444

There must be an easier way to cause this reaction. I think it is in the whelm of frequencies. If we can find and duplicate this frequency we can create perpetual energy; in my view -

That's the sheer beauty of the elements.

Nothing is really being destroyed or used up. I think perpetuity concerning energy as a resource, lays within how well we can manage the elements to perform various tasks and functions.

 

[esmith]

Not at this time. The advancements in research has not reached the critical point to replace fossil fuel.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

Your solution is no solution, just doom and gloom.

The fact remains, within 40 years all the known fossil fuels in the ground will be sucked up and gone; not to return. The question of the day is what are we going to do next-?

Not that I care. I will not be around when this happens so really, should I even care.

-

cobblers! that's exactly what we were all told 40 years ago, I remember a science teacher of all people, telling me I wouldn't be able to drive a car when I grew up because all the oil would be gone.

By the time I got my licence, gas was <1$ a gallon.

Similarly only 10- years ago, how many predicted the global glut today? The shortages are always political, never geological

We could have banned fossil fuels 100 years ago for the same rationale, and missed out on a century of unbelievable progress and increase in standards of living-

Any return to reliance on sun and wind to determine where and when we can produce energy, is a massive leap backwards. If you want to try it, go for it, on your own dime!

 

[Revoltingest]

Not at this time. The advancements in research has not reached the critical point to replace fossil fuel.

If it were really all that cost effective, power companies would be replacing
their old plants with solar cells. But we only see small demonstration
projects to curry favor with greenies. I hope that changes though.

 

[DavidFirth]

If it were really all that cost effective, power companies would be replacing
their old plants with solar cells. But we only see small demonstration
projects to curry favor with greenies. I hope that changes though.

I'll wait until my friends who have changed over to solar power tell me how they feel about it several years from now before I invest a dime in it.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'll wait until my friends who have changed over to solar power tell me how they feel about it several years from now before I invest a dime in it.

That's the safe way to go.

 

[DavidFirth]

That's the safe way to go.

Yes, sir.

 

[Valjean]

I seem to remember this question in school, about 40 years ago!

Our continued access to fossil fuels comes at a price, though. The easily accessed oil and gas are largely depleted. It's been advances in technology like offshore drilling and fracking that are keeping the cars on the road today -- and these carry a much greater environmental risk than a well in a Texas field.

There is a good reason 'alternatives' are still 'alternatives' after so long and so many billions of $ thrown at them. If they were ever viable they would have ceased to be 'alternatives' long ago.

But they have become viable. Like an energy Moore's law, prices of wind and solar have plummeted, while efficiency has soared, and the trend continues. In many regions "alternatives" are already equal to or cheaper than fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels revolutionized industry, transport, farming, and standards of living worldwide, practically overnight without a penny in handouts- that's what a promising new technology looks like- and the viability gap between this and 'alternatives' has only grown ever since.

No, the "viability gap" is shrinking, and no matter how much support the energy conglomerates can buy from congress, it will soon reverse. The invisible hand of the market will doom the industry.

Can alternative energy effectively replace fossil fuels?
Yes, as soon as people can figure out how to make it happen.

Don't we already know how to make it happen?

Walk or ride bikes or horses?

Aren't hybrids and electric vehicles already one of the hottest divisions in the industry? Soon 200 mile-per-charge cars and motorcycles will be common.

If it were really all that cost effective, power companies would be replacing
their old plants with solar cells. But we only see small demonstration
projects to curry favor with greenies. I hope that changes though.

The advantage of fossil fuel plants is that they are concentrated, point sources. Profits can be concentrated in the hands of a few industrialists.
Profits from wind and solar are a lot more difficult to consolidate, as generation is spread out among many individual sources.

European countries moving to electruc vehicles:
Electric cars win? Britain to ban new petrol and diesel cars from 2040