Although the world’s oil reserves are substantial and new discoveries doubtless remain to be found, there is no doubt that oil, coal, natural gas and other hydrocarbons are a finite resource and will eventually be exhausted. What to do then? Will Western Civilization disappear like the Easter Islanders after they cut down their last tree? Or, will we find new energy sources to replace them. If so, what might they be?
Solar Power
Concentrating solar power in deserts is a technology that could supply enough electricity to power the whole of Europe!
Concentrating solar power involves using arrays of mirrors to focus large amounts of sunlight onto a small area. This creates extremely high levels of heat, which can be converted into electricity using a steam turbine or Stirling engine– or stored in tanks of molten salt to provide power at night or on cloudy days.
Solar power from deserts
Electricity from the deserts could be transferred to population centres thousands of miles away using high-voltage direct-current cables.
Geothermal Energy
The extraordinary amount of heat seething below Earth’s hard rocky crust could help supply the world with a significant fraction of the electricity it will need in the future, with minimal environmental impact. Readily available in various geographical regions throughout the world, both on land and under the sea, this energy source alone could provide enough clean energy for the next thousand years.
Geothermal energy
Unlike conventional power plants that burn coal, natural gas or oil, no fuel is required. And unlike solar power, a geothermal plant draws energy night and day.
Underwater Turbines
These underwater structures are designed to convert a portion of the flow of the Gulf Stream through turbines to generate clean electric power. These slow rotating turbines would have a centrifugal separator and deflectors to prevent harm to marine life.
Under water turbine
Bering Strait Bridge
Making a bridge across the Bering Strait would join the two largest masses of land together on Earth. It’s a connection between North America and Asia!
The primary function of this span would be to generate electrical power and house facilities for collecting and processing marine products. Beneath and above the ocean surface would be tunnels for the transport of both passengers and freight.
Bering Strait Bridge to connect North America and Asia
Not only could this structure provide a physical link between Asia and North America, it could also serve as an avenue for social and cultural exchange. This land bridge would perhaps serve as a base for the development of clean fusion power.
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What environmentalists propose is the reduction of the need for foreign oil through the development of renewable energy sources. Western Civilization