We need to lead the push to a future that does not rely on fossil fuels

We have an energy problem. Everyone knows that, but there is disagreement on both what that problem exactly is and what we should do about it. I know this is a very complex issue and I am not going to go into all of the different complicating factors in this post.  That is more like something that could fill a book. So I am going to focus on looking to the future and how to plan and act to make that future the best it can be.

Regardless of the timeline that one might espouse, we can all agree that fossil fuels are finite. Even if you think we have well over a hundred year supply and that burning all of that won't harm the planet and human civilization, you MUST agree that eventually the fossil fuel resources will be so diminished as to make our reliance on them not just unsustainable but catastrophically disastrous.

That being said, I suggest that we look forward to that future. Imagine what that future would be like. What are our energy needs likely to be? How are we likely to obtain all of that energy and from what source. While there are a number of options, I am one of those that believes that an “all of the above” non-fossil fuel scenario is the most likely to provide a sustainable energy supply for the medium term future, and by that I mean the next couple of hundred years.

What are those non-fossil fuel energy sources? The most obvious is the sun. Our ability to harness a fuel source that does not originate on this planet, provides us with a source that we are unable to deplete. That is the best hope for the future. It is important to note that the wind is generated by the unequal heating of the earth by the sun and is thus an indirect form of solar energy. Hydro-electric energy is also indirectly sourced by the sun's heat warming the earth's water, evaporating it and then precipitating it at a higher altitude creating potential energy. Large scale wind and hydro require infrastructure that has impacts on the earth, but compromises must be made. We have simply over-populated our planet to the extent that we have no choice. Large scale photo-voltaic and concentrated solar installations also have these impacts. The decentralization of energy production decreases the impacts of large scale facilities. Small scale individual wind and solar arrays on homes and businesses decreases the need for large scale facilities. Nuclear energy has the potential to help us in this long transition, but the scale of the reactors needs to be brought down too, to decrease the threat of large scale catastrophe as we have recently experienced. More, smaller reactors like those in submarines and aircraft carriers would spread the risk while minimizing the impact of the inevitable accident. The transition to Thorium as a nuclear fuel source is another positive change that could provide safer nuclear energy as part of the energy we need.

Without going further into the various types of non-fossil fuel energy sources, I want to get back to envisioning the future where we are not dependent on fossil fuels and are getting the energy we need from these non-fossil alternatives.

However one might envision that future, it would be beneficial to consider the transition to that future. My thought is that if we can see that future in even the vaguest of levels of prediction, it would behoove us to make that transition as quickly as possible. In doing so, we push our civilization forward to that future. Those who lead that push are those who will profit the most from that transition.

At this point, the United States is not leading the push. The U.S. adoption of alternatives is well below countries that have made it their policy to proceed with a transition to alternative energy. As fossil fuels are depleted, and become more expensive to extract, and their effects on the environment are realized in a more and more negative way. Those countries that have made a transition will be at a huge competitive advantage.

So, I advocate for a focused push in the United States toward that imagined future where fossil fuel supply does not have us fighting for economic survival. Where fossil fuel pollution does not ravage our planet. Where we lead in the push to a new energy future. The technologies are already in place. They will only improve as time goes on. We must adopt those technologies to the fullest extent possible as soon as possible.

I envision a future where our ability to harness the sun to produce the energy we need makes energy so available and is so inexpensive that has little to no impact on our daily lives. Let's get there as soon as we can.