Fueling A Sustainable Future

[RestoreGore]

http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions&itemid=570&language=1

Fuelling a sustainable future
The world must shift from oil to alternative forms of energy
9 February 2007
Source:

Over much of the globe, population growth and a rapid rise in wealth are driving energy use up at a staggering rate. Based on realistic projections, it could quadruple this century.

In this editorial, the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, John P. Holdren, argues that the problem of sustainable energy supply is the most essential challenge to humans this century.

Energy supply is intertwined with national security, environmental problems — from indoor air quality to global climate change — and the capacity to meet basic human needs and fuel economic growth.

We need to shift from our current dependence on oil to a more sustainable path combining improved energy efficiency, reduced population growth and bigger public and private investment in technologies such as nuclear power, biofuel production and solar energy, says Holdren.

This will require strengths in natural science, engineering and "social technology" — our knowledge of business, government, and law systems — as well as the political will to carry decisions through to their conclusion.

Opting for business as usual will, Holdren says, be a prescription for disaster.

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I'm hoping to get some opinions here. How long do you think we truly have before that window closes? Scientists have been saying ten years for the last three plus years and we still do not see an aggressive campaign in this country to get alternate fuels into our tanks. So how many years before it happens? And do we actually have a chance to make a real difference? There is a lot of innovation out here, but will we see it on the market in time at a price the poor can afford? The longer we wait, the worse it will get.

[Double T]

1. The status quo will be our demise................

immediate changes in individual lifestyles and consumption of ALL resources must be reduced. Without substantial immediate changes, in 30 years 'WE' will be in serious trouble, by the end of THIS century mankind will be extinct.

[RestoreGore]

2. Yes, and that will require a moral change

Seems like that is a tall order for the human species.

[Double T]

3. I personally believe humans don't have a REAL burning desire to be disiplined........

or are willing to make the sacrifices necessary for continuation of their species, continuation of the other species or continuation of a habitable planet. Continued world overpopulation will place even greater demands and resultant destruction on our dwindling essential resources and diverse environments. Humans don't usually respond to disasters until it has already occurred and it is too late.

[RestoreGore]

4. Sad, but I have to agree with you...

It seems only catastrophe moves people, and sometimes not even that. Hurricane Katrina is but a memory to so many now. I wonder what it will take to actually make people say we should have done this or that then... when it is too late. Then they will fight each other for the spoils.

[GliderGuider]

5. It's a tall order because of our genetic heritage

We face a double whammy from our genes.

Every reproductive species is genetically programmed to reproduce beyond its replacement rate, as a cheap and effective counter to predation. When there are no predators, it results in catastrophic overpopulation. We have no predators. We are Australian rabbits.

We also seem to be genetically programmed to maximize our physical comfort by gathering more resources than are strictly needed for survival. Given a low population (due to predation) and limited tool use this programming enhanced rather than threatened our survival. When our brains gave us the ability to build tools that allowed us to conquer our predators and dig very deeply into the resource base of our ecological niche, natural selection didn't have time to endow us with a corresponding genetically-mediated sense of restraint.

The only restraints we have on reproduction rates and resource usage come from our intellect. And while intellect is a very powerful tool for manipulating the outside universe, it is extremely weak when it comes to modifying our behaviour. In the main, genetically encoded behaviour patterns tend to rule the day.

The self-destruction we are starting to recognize is in large measure inevitable due to the collision between the immovable rocks of these two genetic imperatives and the irresistible force of our prodigious cerebral cortex.