WEll i was wondering what would happen after all the nonrenewable energy runs out? Solar panels are too expensive, plus, there’s not always sunlight, and wind farms, there’s not always wind. After sun sets, we don’t have any more energy? What will happen and what can people do? Hope you can help. =) I was wondering.
Originally posted 2009-04-23 16:06:05.
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in BC we get a lot of hydro electricity, but i dont know about the rest of the world =S
The thing about the solar panels is they have rechargeable batteries connected to them so they can store excess energy while the sun is out. This allows them to still provide electricity when the sun is not out. Right now we don’t have the technology to meet our current demand for energy using only renewable resources. All we can do as citizens is try to cut back on our energy use and make nonrenewable energy sources last as long as possible. Hopefully by the time they run out we will have the technology to produce the energy we need using only renewable resources.
When the oil is gone
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Which it is already 50% gone
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You will see a melt down of society of the earth
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Countries will began to come to a stop nothing works cause no more gasoline to power the modes of transportation
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The industries will shut down no chemicals needed to manufacture the merchandise
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People in hunger because of no food the farmers have to go back to horse drawn farm equipment and corn pickers are no longer operational because they can not get the part to fix them or the fuel needed to run the tractor to pull them
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Hospitals will close doors because no more electric because the barges that bring the coal to the power plants can not get the coal any more cause the coal mines can not get the coal to the barge
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All of mankind will have to go back to how he lived 300 years ago
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The worlds population will drop by 25% the first year of the oil run out
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We won’t run out of Uranium for many thousands of years (and there’s even more Thorium) and by that time we’ll probably have fusion working along with the infrastructure needed to do space solar so I wouldn’t be too worried about us having the energy we need.
We have enough coal for at least a century even if energy consumption were to increase (at current rates of coal use it is many centuries) and there are other sources of oil that we could exploit so we aren’t running out of fossil fuels and in fact that is the problem because if we were running out we’d have to switch to something else and so we would.
As for ground based solar and wind, those are just distractions that keep the fossil fuel industry in existence (since they can’t actually replace fossil fuels, yet allow people to think they don’t need what can).
Solar power was tested in the 1960’s by low-tech enthusiasts hoping to raise its profile and get funding – they discovered even in freezing conditions, during dull / cloudy / misty weather, they could get sufficient energy.
Pity Nuclear energy put in charge of government’s research into solar!!
We need a WISE combination of renewables i.e. solar, mini-wind turbines, water wheels, kinetic, magnetic, + some human power…
and I agree, we need to reduce our consumption / re-think what we need energy for.
We will be using Thermal energy or the power of the tides. As to non renewable running out that is a myth.
Australia has abundant resources of coal, gas and uranium to power the world for the next 100 years plus. That is without further exploration. When the price becomes high enough you will also find that America(Alaska) will have SUDDEN finds. New Zealand is already using Geo-thermal. Australia is commencing investigation into Geo-thermal use in outback South Australia. The states of Victoria, South Australia and Qld have been very Volcanic active in the far past. Active Volcanic seams are not all that far under the surface in these States.
Australia is also now going down the path of Tidal generators. One is to be established at Port Philip Heads (Victoria) this year. The tide in this area pushes at a rate of approx 8 knots. In the norther parts of Australia the tide rises/falls as much as 10 metres during the tidal cycle. Another hugh area not as yet exploited.
The South Pole Antartica is also said to hold abundant resources of coal and oil and gas and is also an active Geo-thermal area.
The thing is, by the time all the nonrenewable energy is finished we would have hopefully harnessed the power of wind, water and solar energy to a point where it provides us with enough energy to run our current systems and lifestyles. But, it’s mainly the western world that will suffer. African countries and india will not be affected too much actually.
Although solar panels are expensive to install, their running costs are very low, solar panels use solar UV radiation, which is actually present all year round even when it doesn’t seem sunny. Wind turbines are also cheap to run but make an annoying noise, and are only effective if placed where there are constant winds. To answer your question on setting sun: energy is stored during the day and then used. People can help by petitioning to governments or asking companies to endorse renewable energy.
We need to get our energy from a variety of sources, just like we do now, we just need to change the mix to decrease fossil fuels and increase renewables. I don’t think solar is expensive, in my area electric rates go up an average of 10% a year, so if I use the same quantity of energy in 10 years that I’m using today I will be paying double the amount in 8 years. If I buy solar panels, I will break even in about 10 years then I’ll have free energy for at least another 10-15years. In my area I get a great rebate, so I break even in 6 years and will have 14-19 years of free energy.