Energy sources

[fettoken]

Lets start a new discussion, about energy sources.

What energy source do you think is "best"? Which have most potential? Is there any energy source that could be used all over the world right now, or in a couple of years?

 

[Wonk]

red bull.

 

[DocWolfe]

nuclear...

 

[old.Tohtori]

Nuclear or thermal really.

Some gas sources could work too, they're building bio-facilities that harvest the decomposing biowaste energy.

But mainly; nuclear.

 

[fettoken]

What about the nuclear waste?

 

[leviathane]

well some trucks are literally using rubbish as fuel atm. The waste methane which is given off is liquefied and used as fuel.

But basically until they finally manage to create a stable fusion reactor looks like plane old nuclear fission reactors are gonna have to do.

 

[leviathane]

What about the nuclear waste?

just send it to chenoble, it's already fucked

 

[WiZe^]

wind
the sun
Waterwaves
Nanotechnology (in the future ofc duuhhh)
etc

 

[adoNix]

red bull.

have a rep

 

[Raven]

Coal

 

[Lamp]

Nuclear all day long

 

[old.Tohtori]

What about the nuclear waste?

What about it? You can have it if you want

Wait for the space lift to be completed and store it in the moon.

 

[Amanita]

What about it? You can have it if you want

Wait for the space lift to be completed and store it in the moon.

Haven't you seen Futurama? That junk would come back down to haunt us in the year 3000.

 

[Zede]

Hemp could power the world, feed the world, cloth the world 10 times over & still have enough left over the get wrecked to, which is nice.

Bring on global warming for a bumber crop.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Haven't you seen Futurama? That junk would come back down to haunt us in the year 3000.

Yeah, but only one or two of us are around then

 

[Ch3tan]

nuclear.

 

[Raven]

Hemp could power the world, feed the world, cloth the world 10 times over & still have enough left over the get wrecked to, which is nice.

Bring on global warming for a bumber crop.

It would if you levelled every forest on earth and gave up growing cereals to make room, thus negating any benefit from using it. Also the type that you can get fuel from is pointless to smoke.

 

[CorNokZ]

Wind & sun is the future - It's free, 0 emition and no polution

Nuclear is a shitty here and now solution, but in longer terms it is a terrible idea

 

[Ch3tan]

Nuclear is needed in the short term though, it's better than coal power and we have some time to figure out what to do with the waste. The other techs aren't in a place where they can provide the power required.

 

[CorNokZ]

zomg maybe we should cut back on the power needed? :O

 

[Ingafgrinn Macabre]

Ultimately, nuclear fusion would be best, however since we're still pretty far from achieving that in a stable system, for now, I'd say a combination of geothermal and solar, wind and waterpower. Geothermal can be done relatively cheaply where the crust is thin or a magma bubble is underneith the crust (iceland, yellowstone park, other geothermal hot spots around tectonic plate edges). In areas around the equator solar power is a very good option, but since photovoltaic cells are very expensive, I'd say use aluminium or stainless steel mirrors to focus the sun on a boiler and create power from the steam generated.
Wind, well, everyone has seen the big windmills off the coast. Not the best solution imo, due to the high cost of these devices and the amounts needed to get some meaningful power, but still.
Water, wave powergeneration, resevoir lakes, tidal generators, with my preference going to wave powergeneration.

 

[Ch3tan]

zomg maybe we should cut back on the power needed? :O

Let's face it, it's not going to happen.

 

[noblok]

Nuclear is needed in the short term though, it's better than coal power and we have some time to figure out what to do with the waste. The other techs aren't in a place where they can provide the power required.

If you take into account the mining of uranium, the building, maintenance and dismantling of the power plants nuclear is actually about as 'clean' as the latest edition of coal plants (or so I heard from a doctor in engineering).

 

[Job]

Oil, I mean it's not like we should find something else and leave
it in the ground.

Oil is our ancestors little gift of warmth...don't snub them
that would be rude.
That would be like saying 'Well thanks for the sweater Gran, but it's sh*te!'

 

[Zenith.UK]

Short term - Nuclear.
Medium term - Renewable eg. wind, solar, tidal, geothermal
Long term - Nuclear fusion

My preferred option would be to pave desert areas with photovoltaic and mirror solar arrays, use the electricity generated to desalinise sea water and crack it into hydrogen and oxygen. That contributes to solving two problems, fresh water and fueling transportation with hydrogen. Take a look at Iceland as an example of how a hydrogen energy economy could work.
Renewable energy in Iceland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Zede]

It would if you levelled every forest on earth and gave up growing cereals to make room, thus negating any benefit from using it. Also the type that you can get fuel from is pointless to smoke.

indeed, im just makin it all up !


* Hemp is the oldest cultivated fiber plant in the world.
* In ancient Egypt the Pharohs used hemp in building the pyramids.
* George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp.
* Ben Franklin started one of the first paper mills that made hemp paper.
* Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper.
* Lipton Tea has been using hemp in their tea bags forever.
* Hemp seed is one of the most nutritional foods on the planet.
* Hemp oil is the richest known source of essential fatty acids - even more than fish oil.
* Hemp produces 10 times more methanol than corn and is earth’s number one biomass resource.
* One acre of hemp can yield as much usable fiber as 4 acres of trees or 2 acres of cotton.
* One acre of hemp produces as much paper as 4 acres of trees.
* 50% of the world’s pesticides are used to grow cotton. Hemp can be grown naturally.
* Hemp fibers make a garment 4 times stronger than cotton and eliminate shrinkage.
* Hemp clothing is easy to care for and can be put in the washer and dryer safely.
* 100% of the hemp plant can be used commercially - fibers, biomass fuel and animal feed.
* The US Government paid farmers to grow “Hemp for Victory” during WWI and WWII.
* Henry Ford made a hemp car that would not smash with a sledgehamer

what a usless plant.

 

[Raven]

Oh I agree, Its a very versatile and useful source for all sorts of things. Its just there simply isn't enough land to produce bio fuels to match our current consumption of energy. Not without clearing even more forest, which is the last thing we want to do.

 

[Levin]

Short term - Nuclear.
Medium term - Renewable eg. wind, solar, tidal, geothermal
Long term - Nuclear fusion

I was going to make a short term, medium term, long term list too, and it was going to look exactly like this. So.. now that it's been said I can only add that I concur!

 

[Jeros]

Wind
Solar
Tidal
Geothermal

Studying geology made me realise that the scope for geothermal energy is huge....of course its not as profitable as oil or coal

Thankfully that wont be an issue much longer

 

[Access Denied]

Magnetohydrodynamic!