Energy/solutions
These are some possible solutions to the energy crisis - everything ranging from tangible to pie-in-the-sky.
#Consuming less | Viable but requires both personal and systemic changes |
#Renewables + energy storage | Requires innovations |
Nuclear fission breeder reactors | Requires innovations |
Nuclear fusion | Requires massive & unlikely[''']unlikely in the near future innovations |
Fossil fuels with direct air carbon capture | Unlikely to be viable |
Fossil fuels using only the hydrogen component | Unlikely to be viable[ELABORATION needed] |
Consuming less
Probably at least 2/3 of global energy usage could be avoided, without losing much quality of life. Note that the biggest changes would need to happen in "first world" countries, especially for people middle-class and richer. No one should make the global poor consume less.
Energy in manufacturing could be reduced by
- (systemic change) ending planned obsolescence,
- (systemic change) having right to repair, and
- (personal change) promoting frugalism.
- We can still have nice things, we just wouldn't replace them as often.
Energy in transportation could be reduced by
- (systemic change) public transit
- (systemic change) walkability
- (systemic change) more people working from home
- (personal change) carpooling
- (personal change) choosing to walk, bike, or not travel as much
Energy in construction could be reduced by
- (systemic change) shopping malls not redoing their interiors as often
- (personal change) only doing essential home renovations, not cosmetic ones[ELABORATION needed]
(...)( Here's one an example of bad: Landlords redoing floors/countertops/walls every time a tenant moves out (in hopes to find a higher-class tenant who will pay more), even though most tenants [couldn't care less / just want a place that's liveable]. It's especially bad when already-poor tenants get billed for "damages" that no one would really mind except the landlord. )
Energy in agriculture could be reduced by
- (systemic change) grocery stores avoiding food waste
- (personal change) people avoiding food waste, and being willing to eat day-old food from bakeries etc
- (personal change) choosing plant-based food often
The more difficult domains are home heating and cooling. Other home-energy-usage (misc electricity) is not that significant as far as global energy usage is concerned.
It's tempting to get ideological about what matters more: personal vs systemic changes
Most energy currently comes from fossil fuels, because other energy sources have a hard time scaling up. The less energy we need, the easier it is to mitigate climate change.
Renewables + energy storage
Most energy would come from rooftop solar. In very dense cities, rooftops wouldn't be enough, so there would also need to be some solar farms and/or wind power in the surrounding area. Hydro and geothermal electricity would also be used wherever geographically viable
This requires some key innovations:
- solar/challenge 1
- energy storage that doesn't involve too many rare metals or rare geography