• Question: Do you think that the world will be able to function when all the oil is gone, on renewable energy?

    Asked by kayleighls to Andrew, Beth, Bruce, Lindy, Lizzie on 15 Jun 2012.
    • Photo: Bruce Alexander

      Bruce Alexander answered on 15 Jun 2012:

      Absolutely. I forget the statistic, but there is something like enough solar energy that reaches the surface of the earth in one minute to meet our energy demand for 100 years.

      Now, these numbers might very well be wrong (and I will Google them later) but it the end result is the same – solar can deliver more that we are going to need, many, many times over.

      The problem comes from a political will and some technological issues – solar cells are not efficient enough yet to supply all our needs, for example. But what you will find is that this will change when the cost of petrol becomes too expensive – at that point we will *have* to do something else, and a good mix of renewable and, most probably nuclear, will step in to fill the gap.

      One thing is certain, when the oil finally becomes too problematic or costly to use, the world and how we live, will be very different. Necessity is the mother of invent – who knows what we will have invented by then.

    • Photo: Beth Mortimer

      Beth Mortimer answered on 15 Jun 2012:

      I’m not an expert on renewable energy, but I know that oil is also used to make the plastics that we have come to rely on. Althernative materials will also have to be developed to slowly replace these plastics. They will only become popular when they become cheaper to make than plastics.

      There is also a lot of research into making materials or chemicals (or any indistrial process!) at lower energy costs, so we can be more energy efficient. Many look to biological systems for inspiration, as the natural world has been shaped to be highly energy efficient.

      The best example I have come across of this is that Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), which are found in many electronics and torches now are only 22% energy efficient (22% of light energy comes from the electrical energy passing through). Glow worms use a chemical reaction to make light energy to attract their prey. This reaction is around 98% energy efficient, so almost all the chemical energy in the reaction is transferred into light energy. If LEDs were this efficient, we would save nearly 80% off our electricity bill!

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