Some day in the future, we'll have an as-of-yet discovered source of energy that will allow us to provide all the power necessary to run our homes. And that clean, renewable, as-of-yet discovered energy source will probably be about the size of a Coke can. Oh what a wonderful day that will be... someday. But it wont be in my lifetime. I don't say that pessimistically but realistically. Since I was a kid I heard that the salvation of renewable energy was going to be either solar or wind. Over half a century later, it's clear that neither one of those alternatives is able to create enough electricity to power an 18th century economy much less a 21st century economy. That doesn't mean that solar and wind should be dismissed. But they should be placed in the category of "to be used as auxiliary energy sources". Not primary. It isn't sunny everyday and it isn't windy everyday but we need energy everyday. Some of the biggest opponents to wind power is the extreme political left. Yeah, I know I was surprised too. But I checked and currently 32 wind turbine projects are on "hold" or being objective to in the courts because of environmental concerns by numerous eco-groups. Mostly they are concerned about the impact such wind turbines will have upon the migratory patterns of certain birds. Well, birds do fly and it's not inconceivable that more than a few will fly into a spinning wind turbine from time to time... assuming it's a windy day. Others object to wind turbines that will be anchored miles off the coast. The most notable were the plans to install wind turbines off the well-to-do vacation playground of Marthas Vineyard. Apparently the Kennedys, Kerrys and others objected to the idea because the towers would disrupt their view of the Atlantic from their estates. Especially interesting since the towers were to be installed 11 miles out at sea.
Solar power may be great for powering up backyard patio light but not so great for illuminating a major city. There simply isn't enough land mass to lay out enough photovoltaic cells to provide sufficient electricity unless you want to turn Michigan into one giant solar panel. Solar technology may well advance in the next 50 years. But based upon the limited solar technology advancements of the last 50 years, I doubt it. And not surprisingly, there are ecological objections to solar farms just as there are to wind farms.
Then there's oil - the big bad meany on the block. Everyone hates oil until they want to drive their car. Depending who you talk to, peak oil production has already occurred though this is in dispute. New technology allows oil to be extracted in areas never before thought possible. That technology will allow us access to additional reservoirs of oil in land and beneath the sea and with a much smaller footprint. Again, environmentalists bemoan the potential damage. And they're right. The damage done to the Gulf region last year was substantial. And those responsible must be held accountable. But removing drilling platforms from the Gulf region further damaged an already fragile economy. The response should not be to shut down offshore drilling but find ways to make it safer and more productive. Remember, this was a single oil platform's blowout preventer failure - not a systematic one. Hurricanes & typhoons have toppled platforms globally without oil spillage. The safety record is actually quite good although you'd never know it by the news reports. It's not news if everything works as designed, I guess. No one stops driving their car because an accident is possible. The space program didn't halt because of the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia accidents. Nor should we stop trying to extract oil from regions where we know it lies because something might go wrong. Learn from the mistakes and move on. Until our cars run on Leprechaun smiles and Unicorn farts, oil is going to be the energy currency of the realm. Get used to it.
So what's a country to do?
Again, I have no doubts that one day future generations will look back upon the age of fossil fuels as the dark ages of modern energy. But that's a criticism to be made by our great-great-grandchildren. Not our children or grandchildren. And until that glorious day of enlightenment occurs, we'll have to rely upon oil, nuclear, natural gas and the other equally evil sources of energy. Technology can make them safer and cleaner. But they will never be 100% safe or 100% clean. America has not built a nuclear power plant in over 30 years, yet France derives 80% of their electricity from nuclear power. The US about 20%. The French are on their way to energy independence or at least far ahead of the United States. We're still using oil and coal fired electrical plants. Yes, I know. Japan isn't having a love affair with nuclear power right now. But how many earthquakes & tsunamis are going to damage the world's nuclear power plants annually? The Chernobyl nuclear reactor was not encased in concrete as nearly every other reactor is. Had it been, the damage would have been very limited. (The former Soviet Union wasn't very concerned with safety issues) Even the father of nuclear disasters, Three Mile Island was ultimately a result of human error- not a malfunction of a particular system and produced no deaths or calculable health issues per the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's final report. Currently there are 440 nuclear power plants worldwide. They produce as much electricity as all other combined sources of power in 1960. Still they only produce only 14% of our energy supply. Meanwhile coal accounts for 40% of electrical generation worldwide. And we know how Al Gore feels about that.
Energy will always be expensive, risky to produce and potentially damaging. And until that day when that new, clean, nearly free, yet-to-be-named energy source is announced, we're all going to have to come to terms with fact that our current sources of energy are in here to stay. Denying this fact wont make energy any cleaner or less expensive. Besides, Unicorn farts are in such short supply as it is.
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