Energy and Human Ambitions on a Finite Planet, 2021a

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17 Comparison of Alternatives
This book has explored the energy surge of the last ∼ 150 years, largely
casting it as a story of fossil fuels. Combining the finite nature of
fossil fuels with their environmental cost makes it clear that we cannot
expect fossil fuels to carry us into the indefinite future—<strong>and</strong> the sooner
we transition away, the better. We have explored aspects of the chief
alternatives in the preceding chapters. This chapter gathers key results.
One striking realization is that no fundamentally new energy technologies
have emerged in the last half-century. Hydroelectricity, nuclear
fission, wind, <strong>and</strong> solar photovoltaics, had all been invented. Fusion has
been in the research phase the entire time. It would be unwise to expect
a miraculous new entry into the field of energy—a knight in shining
armor. 1 It is not as though scientists <strong>and</strong> engineers have not prioritized
energy research: energy has been recognized as a lynchpin of modern
life all this time. The peak of U.S. oil production in 1970 followed by
two global oil crises that decade served as a wake-up call. Alarm bells
have been ringing over climate change almost the entire time. Interest
has been keen, <strong>and</strong> many ideas 2 have been entertained. Scratching our
heads to generate more ideas is not so promising at this stage.
Perhaps, then, the table is set. We know the actors. We know the pros <strong>and</strong>
cons, having many decades of experience with each of the technologies.
Where does this leave us? This chapter 3 aims to pull it all together to
take stock. The chapters to follow will begin to address how we might
move forward in light of our predicament.
17.1 The Alternative <strong>Energy</strong> Matrix
In exploring potential replacements for fossil energy, it soon becomes
apparent that fossil fuels are unparalleled in many respects. Even though
17.1 Alternative <strong>Energy</strong> Matrix . 289
17.2 Individual Tally ....... 294
17.3 Student Rankings ...... 299
17.4 Upshot: Fossil Fuel Gap .. 300
17.5 Problems ............ 301
1: Extensive underst<strong>and</strong>ing of fundamental
physics offers no hopeful revolutionary
energy source—especially on relevant
timescales.
2: . . . most untenable
3: The content of this chapter is an edited
reprisal of the author’s contribution to State
of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Possible? by
The Worldwatch Institute [111]. Copyright
© 2013 Worldwatch Institute. Reproduced
by permission of Isl<strong>and</strong> Press, Washington,
DC. Originally, the content appeared in a
Do the Math blog post called The Alternative
<strong>Energy</strong> Matrix.
Imagery from the groundbreaking movie The Matrix, byJ. Rue.
© 2021 T. W. Murphy, Jr.; Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Lic.;
Freely available at: https://escholarship.org/uc/energy_ambitions.