Quote:
Originally Posted by Ephirith
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You probably shouldn't take what I said all that seriously, but to answer your question: fossil fuels are so amazingly efficient as a source of energy that in an unfettered market it is almost impossible for many renewable sources to compete.
You might say-- well, when prices for rapidly-depleting fossil fuels start to bloat, and forward-thinking corporations take notice, then the market will facilitate renewable energy supplementation.
Meanwhile, China and the European Union have seen massive, proactive investments in hydro-electric power, renewable energy, and efficient means of moving people (Mass transit... centralized, efficient urban planning). Which economies do you think would be better suited to weather this transition when it happens?
People already understate the massive amount of assfucking we took in 2007 when gas prices went nuts, hammered disposable incomes and logistical costs, and created conditions of fiscal stress that facilitated the financial crash and recession.
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You are correct that the day will come when it is more expensive to extract fossil fuels from the Earth's crust than to produce energy using other means. When that happens, we can switch over. It's not like building solar cells or wind farms or nuclear plants is some kind of super long term project that requires 50 years of planning. Well, except for nuclear plants. But those only take about 5 years to actually build after 30 years of government red tape. In a libertarian society, we'd rid ourselves of those 30 years. And keep in mind that the transition is something that will be gradual and fairly predictable. It's not like there's some giant oil tank out there and one day we'll find it has run dry.
Which economy would be best to weather the transition? I'd say the one that hasn't hobbled itself for decades waiting for the transition. If fossil fuels are wildly more efficient as you state, then any economy focusing on other sources of energy will be dramatically less productive. Also, we aren't really sure yet what will be the most efficient non-carbon energy source. For all we know, there will be some breakthrough in solar panels in 10 years that will render all other energy sources worthless. Those countries who had invested so many resources into wind farms and other power sources would then be less able to take advantage of the new technology.