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RE: The Technological Features Of A Post Oil City
We also need to factor in the result that if we really burn all of the fossil fuels there will be dramatic global changes, such as a 160 to 200 foot rise in sea level that would wipe out many major cities ref. We seem well on our way to doing that. We may need to turn to nuclear power in addition to clean energy sources like solar and wind. Obviously nuclear is controversial, but the world is not going to go back to resource constrained energy living when such a source is readily available to harness. Also, if we do deplete oil we need to consider the impact on all of the products are made from it.
Maybe (re: massive sea level rises). Global change has and always will happen in the Earth System. Perhaps huge influxes of GHG (green house gases) and rapid changes alter the Earth system in ways we do not yet fully understand.
Extreme melting in Greenland, from anthropogenic GHG, leads to huge increases of cold fresh water into the north Atlantic, deflecting and slowing down the Gulf Stream. This cools Europe and more precipitation falls as snow, this causes glaciers to grow. These reflect more energy from the sun and then we start to actually cool.
Re: clean energy, please see my note below (re: externalities). We need to account for all costs in order to determine what is, or is not clean. Cheap wages? Mining regions in developing countries that do not pay a living wage, cutting virgin rainforests to get access to minerals to build those solar panels or those battery banks. Just how clean is it really? Food for thought.
In addition, RE: Nuclear. Until there is a good, "safe" (free from floods, earthquakes, etc) place where the wastes from nuclear can be stored, for at least 25,000 years (the half life of Plutonium-239), we should be careful about generating more.
Where were we 25,000 years ago? Living in caves? What legacy are we leaving the future with waste that kills everything for 25,000 years? I don't have a good solution except caution and clear, level-headed thinking by teams of independent scientists
PS. Here is my formal reply and follow on after getting inspired from this cool post here. Thanks for the inspiration:
https://steemit.com/steemstem/@snowyknight/the-real-costs-of-clean-energy-and-technology-part-1-my-battery-needs-cobalt-and-lithium
PSS. Resteemed.
When the oil and coal run out, quality of life will decline and objections to nuclear will also decline. People who need jobs and money tend to be more pragmatic.