From Peak Oil to Golden Age

[shovland]

Very cool, sailor :-)

[SailorBarsoom]

If electricity gets cheap enough (and space-based solar could do that) it will be possible to make clean-burning synthetic hydrocarbons from water vapor and CO2 taken out of the air. When burned, this will produce water vapor and CO2. But since it came out of the air to begin with, the process is carbon neutral.

[SailorBarsoom]

I said if electricity gets cheap enough, it would be possible, but it is in fact possible now. It just isn't economical. But if the electricity gets cheap enough, and other sources of hydrocarbons get expensive enough...

[resistanceunion]

"In the Future" Than could be grass growing on our heads if we don't plan it well

[shovland]

You are quite right.

[GreenGhost5]

Where do you come up with "many people have to die" to usher in this "golden age"?

We are human, but I feel we learning of our mistakes, however with this being said after we've died and those directly after us. The knowledge of our greed and of our mistakes will be forgotten, the cycle repeats itself.

[shovland]

I guess you intended to respond to zwerrie, because I don't agree with him. 

I think that the human cost of not going full-bore on solar will be huge because oil supplies will not support us, which we are seeing in the daily news.

The sun shines on most of the planet's surface, so cheaper solar will make it possible for more people to enjoy a higher standard of living.

That said, I don't think that the world becomes a better place by adding population.

[zwerrie]

to bad that a lot of people will have to die in the process, there are just too many people in the world to be fully supported by solar, and all other 'alternative' energy sources put together!

but for the remaining it could be a 'golden' age, the transition period will unfortunately most likely be a harsh one...

[shovland]

There are a lot of people on the planet who never had cars, and have been essentially living off the land or as subsistence farmers- are and always were essentially "solar."

Inattentive people in high civilizations are just as likely to suffer.