Viable Alternative Energy Solutions

The prospect of electrification of motor vehicles and the associated requirements for infrastructure changes is by no means a simple or fast fix. We will also need to produce vast amounts of reliable batteries whilst trying to make sure all of this does not itself have a huge impact on our environment. There is some weight to the argument that electric vehicles just move the problem elsewhere. Although, it is not entirely true depending on the source of the power, how cleanly and efficiently it can be produced. Electric vehicles certainly remove the very unhealthy exhaust particulates usually fired at surround people of following vehicles. But, to pull it off we are going to need a huge upgrade to our power grids.

In the UK, we spend £1.20 per capita researching nuclear fusion, still a mere 0.05% of our energy spending and worldwide it’s still less than £1 per person per year. For a technology that holds such an incredible promise of practically limitless power without the nasty concerns about radioactive waste, it seems insane that we aren’t globally pulling out all the stops to get it up and running.

As often seems the case, technology has the potential we need but our business and political decision-making lag tentatively and cautiously behind. The few striking exceptions are people with the vision and funding like Elon Musk. Yes, there are risks, but we need to be more like Elon, as what are the risks of not getting ahead of environmental damage?!

Related posts:

Text messaging feels empty in the 21st century, especially if you are the considerate type who cares about making the other person feel special.

This is a sequence of posts about my recent trip to Poland, where I did some genealogical research. (It’s probably going to be about a lot of things — research methods, history, politics, memory…