Next most likely fuel source?

[Exarch]

i was discussing with my g/f's dad the other day about nikola tesla and his finding a source of power in the magnetosphere of the earth.
We all know that sooner or later, we're going to be achieving peak oil production (heck i think we already are).
Thusly, i've started a thread inviting ppl to recommend potential fuel sources, and viable methods of acquiring and storing the energy, and in what form it'd be.
and pls, references and evidence are highly welcome!!

PS the favourites, such as solar and nuclear are definatley going to be needing references.

[Cataclysm]

One word: Nuclear.

I wrote an eloquent paper advocating nuclear power for my English class. I seem to have lost it though. Imagine powering more than 3,000 families of 4 for a whole year at the cost of 15 (or was it 1.5?) liters of waste (after reprocessing, which is illegal in the US.)

Also, one cubic foot of uranium weighs 1,193 pounds. Thousands of tons of uranium is actually very little.

[Exarch]

i'd love to see it cataclysm
if you could, could u pls post it in the atheneum and perhaps it could get sticky'd, or placed in the scholastica, with ur permission of course.

[Medicus]

Solar polar, hands down.

Imagine a million square kilometres of the things, across the Sahara. Mmmm.

[Exarch]

THe good doctor raises a highly valid POV.
The only problem is of course ensuring the stability of the region of the sahara desert which i think encompasses about 4+ African states, not neccessarily politically stable.

[Medicus]

THe good doctor raises a highly valid POV.
The only problem is of course ensuring the stability of the region of the sahara desert which i think encompasses about 4+ African states, not neccessarily politically stable.

As if that's stopped the West before.

[roy34543]

Perhaps hydrogen? it seems like a very viable alternative to powering cars. It might be able to use it for energy if it becoems more efficient. Unfortunatly it would be extremely expensive and would require replacing nearly everything (But would save a lot of money in the long run)
that or methanol, which is cheaper but still pollutes quite a bit (hydrogen does too, but much less) and can be created from virtually anything. And it doesnt really work properly in cold weather

[Exarch]

Perhaps hydrogen? it seems like a very viable alternative to powering cars. It might be able to use it for energy if it becoems more efficient. Unfortunatly it would be extremely expensive and would require replacing nearly everything (But would save a lot of money in the long run)
that or methanol, which is cheaper but still pollutes quite a bit (hydrogen does too, but much less) and can be created from virtually anything. And it doesnt really work properly in cold weather

the problem with m/ethanol, is the vast, and i mean vast fields of canefields with which to harvest the sugar, and from which you'd process it to attain the m/ethanol.
The ecosystem of several areas would be ****ed.
On the upside, car engines just need a little mod to run on ethanol efficiently.

[Cúchulainn]

which is cheaper but still pollutes quite a bit (hydrogen does too, but much less)

How?

Here's my simple knowledge of Organic Chemistry.

Combustion of something basically means simply adding oxygen to it.

So.

Hydrogen + Oxygen = Water.
H2 + O = H20

Nothing more!

Problem of course is that hydrogen is a lot less stable that fossil fuels, and has a much more, shall we say "energetic" reaction that it as well.

[Big War Bird]

Algae

Imagine a million square kilometres of the things, across the Sahara. Mmmm.

And endanger the habitat of the sand cockroach? Over my dead body!

[Axeman]

I read in a magazine that scientists made a breakthrough with hydrogen cells and said they could run the entire mechanized workforce of the world by 2025 with zero polutants, ambitous to say the lease, yet nevertheless intresting, I will find the articile if I can.

In the near future however, I hope we will do less centralized powering, and more putting solar pannels on your roof and powering your own house kind of thing, I would love that!

[Lugat]

I don't think that plastering the Sahara with solar power plants would be a good idea (although, I believe this project is already in testing in small scale) since I think it would have effects on the climate. I have no profund knowledge on this subject but wouldn't changing the entire Sahara cause temperature changes and thus negate the whole effort and possibly mess with the climate on a larger scale (think jet streams) as well?
The problem with fuel cells isn't the fuel cell itself but rather producing hydrogen which is quite energy consuming as well. There are rather interesting ideas to help with this problem though. So I'll say a combination of fuel cells (engines, turbines) and nuclear power (power plants) is the way to go.

[Juno]

Feces.

[roy34543]

Hydrogen isnt expensive to get a reaction out of. Its expensive to build the cars/infastracture that would be able to contain and use it properly, in comparison to say , methanol which can be harvested from, indeed plants, but it can be made from garbage and CO2 As well

Here is the non-extraordinarily scientific page that i saw on wiki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methano..._over_hydrogen

[Nutsack]

The process for which to produce ethanol from corn requires more energy than it supplies. Note though, this is only for corn, for example, sugar cane yields an positive output. This means the U.S will have to import sugar cane ethanol from foreign countries, so current issues really aren't solved this way, at least in the U.S. The future energy will most likely be a mix of electrical/sugar ethanol.

[Norge]

Nuclear trough Thorium... I hope

[Time Commander Bob]

Nuclear power is unlikely to become the next likely fuel source not because of how efficient, costly or effective it is but because people still perceive it as dangerous. More nuclear power plants will close down over the next 10-15 years than will be opened.

[Cataclysm]

Nuclear power is unlikely to become the next likely fuel source not because of how efficient, costly or effective it is but because people still perceive it as dangerous. More nuclear power plants will close down over the next 10-15 years than will be opened.

Thats a shame. Nuclear power is our only real hope for curbing global warming. Unless someone perfects fusion, its really our only immediate answer. Renewables are just not powerful or plentiful enough.

Make no mistake: Nuclear is not perfect and there will be danger. The danger posed by nuclear, however, is minimal compared to the danger we already face at the hands of innumerable toxins emitted by fossil fuel plants. The amount of radioactive waste generated by coal plants exceeds that of nuclear plants. Nuclear emits no waste except steam from the cooling towers and depleted uranium which can be refined (a process currently illegal in the US!) and re-used.

I remember watching a Greenpeace anti-nuclear ad where a family was frolicking on the beach when a 747 flys in low and the camera cuts out just before it hits a nuclear power station. Will somebody tell these idiots that nuclear is serious business and you can bet your bottom dollar that every possible safeguard has been put into place to protect the stations?

As for Chernobyl (I'll mention it before someone else does), the reactors at Chernobyl are not typical reactor designs. They're dangerous and unstable designs what should have never been built in the first place. There are no reactors of that design in the US. The meltdown occurred when some scientists who were in a rush to complete an experiment basically threw away the rulebook.

[Ramashan]

I don't think there can be one save all next thing in energy needs. I think we need to take a multi angled approach. They are making great break throughs in Nuclear Fusion which I believe has less danerous by product than Nuclear Fission which we have now. Also, there have been many new break throughs in solar panels and I was just talking to someone recently that is investing in a company that is designing solar panels that will look like the shingles on your roof and power you home.

Hydrogen is more explosive, but instead of fire spreading out, it tends to rise as it combusts and burn itself out quickly. Some say this makes it a little safer than a liquid gas fire.

Many coastal regions are toying with the idea of under water wave motion electrical generators.

Another aspect that will help is the increased use of LEDs as lighting since they use very little electricity.

I don't think we'll ever completely do away with fossile fuels since it is the most efficient for large scale energy needs, especially heating and large boiler driven factories.

[Mythos]

They are making great break throughs in Nuclear Fusion which I believe has less danerous by product than Nuclear Fission which we have now.

Great breakthroughs? Where? Because so far, we are still building an experimental fusion reactor to test whether we can produce more energy than we put in the reaction. If these tests are successfull, perhaps by 2050, we will have a commercial fusion reactor. By that time oil would be something like $1000/barrel. If there is any left, that is.

My opinion is that we should use as much renewables as possible. The problem with renewables is the unpredictability of supply. Therefore you have to store this energy before releasing it, otherwise you will destroy the grid and everything connected to it. Hydrogen is a possibility, but electrolysis is not a very efficient process. Electrolytes must also be improved, a lot. On the other hand, hydrogen is plenty and a lot of research has been put into a hydrogen economy. Another idea, that I have read about recently is using renewable energy to compress air in caves, which will be released to turbines driving generators.

But the real problem is not energy. Lack of energy is a symptom, as is global warming, as it lack of food, as is pollution. The real problem is overpopulation. The Earth cannot support 9 billion people (2050 est) living with western standards. It has been calculated that we would need 6 extra Earths for that.