Is alternative energy a real possibility or just a pipe dream?

Question

Alternative energy is needed in our world today, but will the world as a whole ever be able to stop our addiction to oil?

Answer 1

Good question.

There seem to be many other sources of energy but they seem to be expensive to obtain or to require large amounts of land to be dedicated to crop growth or for collectors. This is in itself a type of inefficiency.

In the long term prices may come down but energy such as crop based gasoline alternatives don't seem to me like they would cut it with a growing demand for gas their will be a growing demand for the amount of land that must be dedicated to its production. not to mention the population is growing and its not going to stop.

If we move toward becoming almost entirely dependent upon alternative energy we must move towards harnessing different kinds of power and not just search for one solution.

A lot of money would be lost from a lot of big companies.

For instance there is a windmill type device you can purchase for your home needs right now for around $10,000 it is highly efficient
and supposedly super quiet. It is said to be able to generate between 30% to all of a homes energy needs depending on where you live. If too much energy is generated the excess may be sold back to the electrical company.

If you could purchase three of these at the hefty price of $30,000 you could theoretically not ever have to pay a power bill again in some places or pay almost no bill at all. The electrical companies services could be utilized as a form of backup power.

If everyone had these wind collectors this would certainly shrink the electrical power industry.

There is no information available to me about how much it can cost to repair these items or how well they can withstand the event of a hurricane or tornado.

But I dont think think alternative energy is a pipe dream it is just something that is going to take a large investment to start up and develop towards higher levels of performance and efficiency.

The engineering of rugged devices will have to play a large role and does currently, however, a lot of trial and error needs to occur to see what works where and why and what got destroyed by random acts of god and the forces of nature and how that can be prevented.

Should things begin to look rather good for alternative energy... and it seems things look better day by day... energy companies would have to begin facing downsizing and new business models and perhaps invest themselves into the production of alternative energy or alternative energy generating devices for sale to the public. Either way at some point they wont be the economic giants they have been to this point and thats probably gonna keep them from helping.

Alternative energy will only be a pipe dream if people are afraid to nurture it and harness the energies available. This is something that is and will be heavily influenced by politics.

On another note, I think that nuclear power seems to be an "easy way out" but I don't believe that it is a good or secure solution. There have been so many nuclear mishaps you dont hear about and so much waste that you cant prevent or do anything about. Aside from alternative energy being developed for fear of a lack of oil I also thought a large part of it was moving towards a cleaner earth. Moving towards nuclear power and nuclear waste is dangerous for everyone. Radiation does not simply go away it is corruption of matter and it is "contagious". Sure we could maybe launch it off into space, but should something go wrong on the way out of here we would face yet another type of radiological disaster.

Answer 2

Of course alternative energy is a real possibility. Look at what technology has accomplished in that last 100 years. There are alternative energy sources out there right now, they are just not as affordable as oil is. Don't give up hope. It took thousands of years for us to get indoor plumbing, so a little more patience is needed here.

Answer 3

I think it's a real possibility if someone with LOTS of money to spend helps develop it and build cars that run on it. There are tons of way to generate energy out there (some that come to mind are solar, wind, nuclear, bio fuels) but they lack financial backing. If our legislators would stop wasting our tax dollars on crap for their districts and start thinking about the security and viability of this country, it could make it happen. We have to put our foot down at some point and DEMAND the government give some incentives for development and implementation of these viable alternative fuels.

I hope the oil companies decide to adapt with the times, following their own model of capitalism, which I also believe in. If you don't adapt to changes in the market and what people are demanding, then you don't survive as a business. They better get crackin'.

Answer 4

It's possible... it just won't happen tomorrow... or, most likely, with in the next decade. The technology or the economics just aren't there. And, putting the technology aside, it's very difficult to get even what is possible done because the wacko ornamental movement protest even that. Cases in point. The wind farm off of the New England coast.... opposed by the Kennedy's (among others). Wind farms else where have been opposed because they kill to many birds. A proposed solar generating station won't be able sell it's power to Cal. because there is opposition to the power lines (they cross "protected" desert lands)

In truth the Greens don't want *any* kind of power generated... or most humans to be on this planet.

Answer 5

of course its possible,but its not likely until the oil companies get every cent available from us.after that happens watch how fast they come up with new energy source.some kid was on fox last week with a homemade fusion reactor.if a high-school kid with no money can do that do you think the govt and big oil couldn't have a long time ago.

Answer 6

yes, it's possible...there are many other choices for alternative energy.

We do not have an infinite supply of oil!

Answer 7

Ofcourse it is.But might not be utilized because alot of money hungry oil moguls will go out of business.

Answer 8

WELL IT DEPENDS it could be nonrenewable energy or reneable energy.

Answer 9

yes it is possible, but is it possible without oil companies taking it over first?

Answer 10

No, it s becoming a new business