Dr Malone, neither of the two futures you describe is possible precisely because we have now begun the energy descent. I have spent my entire career as an energy and sustainability engineer. We are now past peak oil and there is nothing that can replace fossil fuels. By 2100, human civilzation will have naturally devolved to something li…
Dr Malone, neither of the two futures you describe is possible precisely because we have now begun the energy descent. I have spent my entire career as an energy and sustainability engineer. We are now past peak oil and there is nothing that can replace fossil fuels. By 2100, human civilzation will have naturally devolved to something like a new feudalism, based on exploitation of local resources. Globalism of any kind, whether it is based on technology or religion will be impossible. I think that is a good thing. Let's focus on building cultures now that are place based and founded on morality and reverance for God and nature's gifts. The sooner we recognize the inevitable, the sooner we can begin to adapt without losing our souls. Do you doubt me on the energy question? Then tell me where you think the energy will come from.
Thorium salt reactors. You get the thorium from coal. You get 13 times more energy from the thorium then you would burning the coal. The tailings can be converted into synthetic gasoline (the Germans developed the process in WWII) using part of the energy from the reactors. He have hundreds of years worth of coal. In a few hundred years, if humans exist on this rock, I'm pretty sure we will have solved the problem by then.
What I have in mind is accepting reality. We live on a finite planet. The only sustainable source of energy is our Sun. We are burning through the ancient fossilized biomass created by solar energy - oil and coal. Once that is gone, we will be left with the same sources of energy our ancestors had, mostly biomass and animal power.
Nuclear, photovoltaics, wind, hydropower and all the rest are only possible because we have diesel and coal to mine the minerals and make the steel and other materials to construct these alternative energy devices. When you start looking at EROI - Energy Returned on Energy Invested - you see how limited we are.
I am hopeful that in 100 years from now, we may be able to have the best of the 19th century technology with some enhancements from electricity where it can still be provided through micro-grids running on renewable biomass, with some solar PV and wind. Maybe the thorium reactors will work out, but they won't be widespread. I don't expect the Internet to be around. Radio could be though.
We would be in a lot better shape now if we had listened to those who urged us to conserve and consume less, but thanks to the greedy and the technocrats, we have created a culture of more, more, more. I suppose the tech-singularity people think that we have to have this massive energy blowout to support the technology development they want to achieve their ends. Like Evel Knievel they have poured on the gas to try to jump the Grand Canyon. They will fail and techno society will lie in a heap at the bottom, while the rest of us figure out how to move on.
Personally, I look to indigenous ways and groups like the Amish for guidance. We will need a lot more horses! Dr. Malone, take note!
The good news is that religion will thrive in this environment and humanity will not be oppressed by the technocrats. I appreciate this discussion and the meta-religion idea, not because I think it is right, but because religious discussion and inquiry will help many of us who are disconnected to come back to a more spiritual life.
I'm a fan of Spiral Dynamics, in that I see the progression of humanity as an upward spiral. We don't move upward in a straight line, we dip "backward" to include what works. We can learn from the Amish, indeed. All that said, we're in extremely perilous times and we may need miracles to have healthy progression.
Dr Malone, neither of the two futures you describe is possible precisely because we have now begun the energy descent. I have spent my entire career as an energy and sustainability engineer. We are now past peak oil and there is nothing that can replace fossil fuels. By 2100, human civilzation will have naturally devolved to something like a new feudalism, based on exploitation of local resources. Globalism of any kind, whether it is based on technology or religion will be impossible. I think that is a good thing. Let's focus on building cultures now that are place based and founded on morality and reverance for God and nature's gifts. The sooner we recognize the inevitable, the sooner we can begin to adapt without losing our souls. Do you doubt me on the energy question? Then tell me where you think the energy will come from.
Thorium salt reactors. You get the thorium from coal. You get 13 times more energy from the thorium then you would burning the coal. The tailings can be converted into synthetic gasoline (the Germans developed the process in WWII) using part of the energy from the reactors. He have hundreds of years worth of coal. In a few hundred years, if humans exist on this rock, I'm pretty sure we will have solved the problem by then.
Interesting! If there's a will, there's a way. Just get those working to depopulate the planet out of the picture.
Thorium dkes not make nukesm emhence govs dont use it.
Canada and the US were working on a design, but I don't know what happened to that project.
Likely secret space program put it into classified patents. Read the drive s tyler article on navy ufo patent and fusion generator.
Got a link?
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/39012/the-navy-finally-speaks-up-about-its-bizarre-ufo-patent-experiments
What are your thoughts about energy from the sun? And nuclear?
I agree that solar the way it is now isn't sustainable or green. There has to be a way to make it work.
No there does not have to be way to make it work.
What do you have in mind?
What I have in mind is accepting reality. We live on a finite planet. The only sustainable source of energy is our Sun. We are burning through the ancient fossilized biomass created by solar energy - oil and coal. Once that is gone, we will be left with the same sources of energy our ancestors had, mostly biomass and animal power.
Nuclear, photovoltaics, wind, hydropower and all the rest are only possible because we have diesel and coal to mine the minerals and make the steel and other materials to construct these alternative energy devices. When you start looking at EROI - Energy Returned on Energy Invested - you see how limited we are.
I am hopeful that in 100 years from now, we may be able to have the best of the 19th century technology with some enhancements from electricity where it can still be provided through micro-grids running on renewable biomass, with some solar PV and wind. Maybe the thorium reactors will work out, but they won't be widespread. I don't expect the Internet to be around. Radio could be though.
We would be in a lot better shape now if we had listened to those who urged us to conserve and consume less, but thanks to the greedy and the technocrats, we have created a culture of more, more, more. I suppose the tech-singularity people think that we have to have this massive energy blowout to support the technology development they want to achieve their ends. Like Evel Knievel they have poured on the gas to try to jump the Grand Canyon. They will fail and techno society will lie in a heap at the bottom, while the rest of us figure out how to move on.
Personally, I look to indigenous ways and groups like the Amish for guidance. We will need a lot more horses! Dr. Malone, take note!
The good news is that religion will thrive in this environment and humanity will not be oppressed by the technocrats. I appreciate this discussion and the meta-religion idea, not because I think it is right, but because religious discussion and inquiry will help many of us who are disconnected to come back to a more spiritual life.
I'm a fan of Spiral Dynamics, in that I see the progression of humanity as an upward spiral. We don't move upward in a straight line, we dip "backward" to include what works. We can learn from the Amish, indeed. All that said, we're in extremely perilous times and we may need miracles to have healthy progression.