Difference between revisions of "Energy"

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*'''<!--[[Hydro-electric power generation|Hydro-electric]]--> Hydro-electric'''
 
*'''<!--[[Hydro-electric power generation|Hydro-electric]]--> Hydro-electric'''
 
*'''<!--[[Nuclear power|Nuclear]]--> Nuclear''': nuclear fission. Prospective: {{wp|Fusion_power|nuclear fusion}} and accelerator-driven thorium-fuelled {{wp|Energy_amplifier|energy amplifier}}
 
*'''<!--[[Nuclear power|Nuclear]]--> Nuclear''': nuclear fission. Prospective: {{wp|Fusion_power|nuclear fusion}} and accelerator-driven thorium-fuelled {{wp|Energy_amplifier|energy amplifier}}
*'''<!--[[Geothermal power|Geothermal]]--> Geothermal''': shallow geothermal heat pumps, volcanic related geothermal, {{wp|Hot-Dry-Rock|'hot-dry-rock' geothermal}}
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*'''<!--[[Geothermal power|Geothermal]]--> Geothermal''': shallow geothermal heat pumps, volcanic related geothermal, {{wp|Hot-Dry-Rock|'hot-dry-rock' geothermal}}. See also [http://geothermal.inel.gov/publications/future_of_geothermal_energy.pdf Future of Geothermal Power (in the United States)] from {{wp|MIT|MIT}}
 
*'''<!--[[Biomass power generation|Biomass]]--> Biomass''': vegetable oil, compost methane, fermented crop waste, algae, sustainable wood, and clean burning of organic waste, animal dung and rubbish
 
*'''<!--[[Biomass power generation|Biomass]]--> Biomass''': vegetable oil, compost methane, fermented crop waste, algae, sustainable wood, and clean burning of organic waste, animal dung and rubbish
  
The energy available from solar and geothermal alone far exceed our current and likely future energy requirements and could sustain humanity indefinitely. Also steadily increasing {{wp|Energy_conservation|energy efficiency}}, due to improved system design and increasing cultural awareness should become a significant factor in our energy use.
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The energy available from solar and geothermal alone far exceed our current and likely future energy requirements and could sustain humanity indefinitely. Also steadily increasing {{wp|Energy_conservation|energy efficiency}}, due to improved system design and increasing cultural awareness should become a significant factor in our energy usage.
  
The issue currently is economics. The bottom line is that it is still cheaper to pump oil out of the ground and burn it to produce power than other methods. However the other other energy sources are sitting in right front of us waiting to be harnessed. It may be that open-source methods can by-pass the economics issue to enable plentiful, environmentally friendly power indefinitely.
+
The issue currently is economics. The bottom line is that it is still cheaper to pump oil out of the ground and burn it to produce power than use other methods. However these other energy sources are sitting in right front of us waiting to be harnessed. It may be that open-source methods can by-pass the economics issue to enable plentiful, environmentally friendly power.

Revision as of 21:30, 25 July 2007

The sun (image from SOHO spacecraft)
We have these major sources of energy available to us, in no particular order and not including fossil fuels that we currently rely on for the majority of our energy today:

The energy available from solar and geothermal alone far exceed our current and likely future energy requirements and could sustain humanity indefinitely. Also steadily increasing energy efficiency 11px-Wikipedia_logo.jpg, due to improved system design and increasing cultural awareness should become a significant factor in our energy usage.

The issue currently is economics. The bottom line is that it is still cheaper to pump oil out of the ground and burn it to produce power than use other methods. However these other energy sources are sitting in right front of us waiting to be harnessed. It may be that open-source methods can by-pass the economics issue to enable plentiful, environmentally friendly power.