Unlocking the planet-saving power of alternative energy
Climate change is only part of the problem; there are other disadvantages of fossil fuels which can be addressed by alternative energy sources
As I was browsing the internet the other day, I came upon a rather jarring advertisement on YouTube. In that video, Simon Kofe, the foreign minister of Tuvalu, claimed that his country was going to become the first "digital nation" of the world in an attempt to preserve their culture, heritage and history, at least in the Metaverse.
Upon further research, I learned that Tuvalu had been declared "extremely vulnerable" to climate change by the United Nations and may be totally submerged within the next 100 years because of rising sea levels, and on a more macro level, climate change.
However, Tuvalu and its citizens are not the only ones in danger from the use of fossil fuels.
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Unless you are a tinfoil-hat-wearing contrarian, it is likely that you also believe in the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change and its potential catastrophic implications for the survival of the human race.
You probably also know that the major contributor to climate change is the increasing carbon emission, especially in the past 100-150 years following the industrial revolution, largely on account of human activities that require fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, petroleum and petroleum by-products, etc.
Given that the fossil fuels used to run our factories and light our homes are typically hydrocarbons (an atom made of hydrogen and carbon), burning (oxidising) them releases carbon-di-oxyde (CO2) into the atmosphere. Unfortunately, CO2 molecules are heavier compared to oxygen and nitrogen molecules and therefore, cannot escape earth's atmosphere because of gravity.
Consequently, they create a sort of barrier, much like the glass roof of a greenhouse which prevents sunlight, and thereby, heat from escaping from earth's atmosphere, resulting in what we call "global warming". And global warming has resulted in a disequilibrium in the natural system, melting the polar ice caps and raising the sea levels and changing how ocean currents and air currents behave, consequently giving rise to more frequent natural disasters ranging from extreme droughts in South Africa to frequent hurricanes, typhoons or cyclones in coastal regions around the world.
To make matters worse, the UN Climate Agency claims that even if we achieve the net-zero emission goals by 2030, global temperatures will have risen by 2.5 degree celsius, making climate change irreversible. So, it probably makes sense to shy away from our over-reliance on fossil fuels and look for alternative energy sources.
No more fighting over scarce resources?
Climate change is only part of the problem. There are other disadvantages with fossil fuels which can be addressed by alternative energy sources. First, given the scarcity of natural resources like oil, natural gas, coal etc., it is likely that these non-renewable energy sources will soon run out.
A 2019 report from Stanford University's Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere (MAHB) predicts that the world will run out of oil by 2052, natural gas by 2060, and coal by 2090.
Moreover, given the scarcity of natural resources like oil, natural gas, coal etc., countries with natural resources are often the centre of geopolitical attention and that rarely fares well for the inhabitants of that country. Just look at Iraq! Geopolitical rivals fight over control of these precious resources, because of our overreliance on these resources. As we adopt more renewable energy sources, it is likely that the relative geopolitical importance of the regions will also decline.
Given that we are likely to run out of all sorts of fossil fuels in a 100 years, it may make sense to switch to more renewable energy sources like hydro, solar, wind, geothermal, etc.
How alternative energy sources would be better
First, alternative energy sources (e.g., wind, hydro, solar, geothermal, ocean etc.) do not require us to burn hydrocarbons or other fossil fuels, which also means that these alternative sources should also have significantly reduced adverse effects on the environment.
While it is common for people to mix up renewable energy sources with alternative energy sources, that is not necessarily the case. Other sustainable energy sources like nuclear energy or biomass energy also do not leave a large carbon footprint on the environment.
Encouragingly, nuclear power might also transition to being entirely renewable if uranium was obtained from seawater rather than mined ore. Nuclear would become as infinite as solar as the uranium removed is continuously replenished through the geological processes.
Even if we are unable to achieve that, companies like Orano have claimed that they are able to recycle 96% of the nuclear waste generated from nuclear fission in reactors. More importantly, the recent invention of nuclear fusion technology can also revolutionise energy generation as the fusion process is able to generate four times more energy from the same fuel compared to nuclear fission, and four million times compared to the use of fossil fuels. That is, alternative energy sources have the potential to not only be more sustainable, but also more efficient.
There is a caveat though. The existing technology to transform renewable energy sources come with their own environmental, humanitarian and geopolitical implications. For instance, solar cells use a range of minor metals including silicon, indium, gallium, selenium, cadmium, and tellurium. And China has apparently monopolised their control over rare metal mines in African countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo. This monopolisation may foster future geopolitical tensions between the US and China. Moreover, these mines often use children to find rare metals and pay very little in wages to even the adult mine workers, let alone the children.
So, while the relative harm of alternative energy sources is lower compared to that of fossil fuels, under no circumstances can we ignore the aforementioned ramifications of upscaling the alternative energy industry.
