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Overview
The Earth is finite. Fossil fuels are not renewable. The basis of all economic growth and activity is now in jeopardy. As these fuels begin to run short in years and very short in decades, the global economic system will need to find an alternative source of energy or it will completely collapse. Equally disturbing, fossil fuel combustion produces carbon dioxide-the greenhouse gas attributed to climate change scientists are warning could lead to mass drought, famine and positive feedbacks that increase warming further. Could the entire world be facing the most catastrophic culmination of events in human history?
Most purported solutions to the energy conundrum are either too small to matter or have a fatal flaw. Hydroelectric power is low-cost, but cannot be expanded. Geothermal power is available in only favorable tectonic locations, and likewise cannot be expanded. Biomass as currently practiced (corn ethanol or soybean diesel) produces such small gains in net-energy that no amount of farmland could contribute significantly to reducing fossil fuel consumption. The average capacity factor of photovoltaic solar is 14%; wind 27%. The fatal flaw is that battery technology is not sufficient to store sporadic and unreliable power coming in off the grid for when it isn't sunny or windy.
Efficiency has always coincided with increased, rather than decreased, fossil fuel consumption. Hydrogen isn't a source of energy, it is merely a carrier of energy. And finally, while the world still has enough coal, we have yet to demonstrate large-scale, long-term storage of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas attributed to runaway climate change. Two-thirds of world energy now comes from oil and natural gas-which are running short. According to the International Energy Agency, 580 of the 800 largest oil fields in the world now have declining production. Will the 21st century be the century that civilization as we know it comes to an end?
As articulately explained in great detail in "The Nuclear Economy," none of the purported solutions to the energy problem will work-except one. Using existing technology, all the problems associated with nuclear power have been solved: proliferation, waste, cost, safety, and fuel supply. A little-known technology cancelled for political reasons in 1994 promises inherently safe nuclear power unlimited by fuel supplies, with a waste product sharply reduced in both radioactive lifetime and amount. Known as the Integral Fast Reactor, it uses a revolutionary new pyrometallurgical fuel cycle 160 times as fuel efficient as the once-through fuel cycle of common light water reactors, and mixes materials in such a way that they are dangerous to handle and not suitable for bomb production. The reactor could completely solve the nuclear waste problem, since existing stockpiles of waste material could power thousands of Integral Fast Reactors for centuries.
Energy is the single most important resource of any society, industrial or hunter-gatherer, and a reduction in per-capita energy use always results in a decrease in standard of living and reversion to a more primitive state. We are already witnessing the early stages of civilization's decline happening before our very eyes as the world reaches a maximum rate of oil extraction, and economies crumble. If you are wondering why the entire global economy is screeching to a halt, oil prices are extremely volatile, and nothing seems to change-this book connects all the dots and presents a roadmap to all the answers. Finally, a solution to the energy problem that will actually work, end the world's economic and environmental odyssey-and lead to a sustainable era of clean air and post-scarcity for all.
Most purported solutions to the energy conundrum are either too small to matter or have a fatal flaw. Hydroelectric power is low-cost, but cannot be expanded. Geothermal power is available in only favorable tectonic locations, and likewise cannot be expanded. Biomass as currently practiced (corn ethanol or soybean diesel) produces such small gains in net-energy that no amount of farmland could contribute significantly to reducing fossil fuel consumption. The average capacity factor of photovoltaic solar is 14%; wind 27%. The fatal flaw is that battery technology is not sufficient to store sporadic and unreliable power coming in off the grid for when it isn't sunny or windy.
Efficiency has always coincided with increased, rather than decreased, fossil fuel consumption. Hydrogen isn't a source of energy, it is merely a carrier of energy. And finally, while the world still has enough coal, we have yet to demonstrate large-scale, long-term storage of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas attributed to runaway climate change. Two-thirds of world energy now comes from oil and natural gas-which are running short. According to the International Energy Agency, 580 of the 800 largest oil fields in the world now have declining production. Will the 21st century be the century that civilization as we know it comes to an end?
As articulately explained in great detail in "The Nuclear Economy," none of the purported solutions to the energy problem will work-except one. Using existing technology, all the problems associated with nuclear power have been solved: proliferation, waste, cost, safety, and fuel supply. A little-known technology cancelled for political reasons in 1994 promises inherently safe nuclear power unlimited by fuel supplies, with a waste product sharply reduced in both radioactive lifetime and amount. Known as the Integral Fast Reactor, it uses a revolutionary new pyrometallurgical fuel cycle 160 times as fuel efficient as the once-through fuel cycle of common light water reactors, and mixes materials in such a way that they are dangerous to handle and not suitable for bomb production. The reactor could completely solve the nuclear waste problem, since existing stockpiles of waste material could power thousands of Integral Fast Reactors for centuries.
Energy is the single most important resource of any society, industrial or hunter-gatherer, and a reduction in per-capita energy use always results in a decrease in standard of living and reversion to a more primitive state. We are already witnessing the early stages of civilization's decline happening before our very eyes as the world reaches a maximum rate of oil extraction, and economies crumble. If you are wondering why the entire global economy is screeching to a halt, oil prices are extremely volatile, and nothing seems to change-this book connects all the dots and presents a roadmap to all the answers. Finally, a solution to the energy problem that will actually work, end the world's economic and environmental odyssey-and lead to a sustainable era of clean air and post-scarcity for all.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781441577115 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Xlibris US |
| Publication date: | 09/10/2009 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 173 |
| File size: | 322 KB |
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