Random Energy Thoughts…
Recently independent studies have affirmed that global warming is happening, but the new studies do not necessary tackle the issue of cause.
Some things I would like everyone to consider.
- Weather is the planet’s way of trying to distribute heat. (Energy)
- Fossil fuels are nothing more than a very inefficient storage media of ancient solar energy.
- The earth is a large semi-closed system.
- All power generation will have some affect on the climate. (Even renewable sources)
The more time I spend thinking about energy the more I realize that there is not an easy solution. All natural systems see oscillation. The norm is a moving target. A large human population liberates massive amounts of stored energy (regardless of source), which changes the rate and amplitude in which natural systems oscillate. By burning fossil fuels, we are liberating energy that has effectively been removed from a closed system for millions of years. Never mind CO2, if we think in terms of energy only we still have the ability to cause climate variation. Renewable resources should cause variation to a lesser extent, but over all a similar effect will likely occur with things like wind and solar energy. We use the electrical grid to move vast amounts of energy from one location to another in less than the blink of an eye. The fact of the matter is that even small amounts of energy robbed from the environment and rapidly moved to another geographic location can affect climate. If alternative energy sources were to become the primary energy sources I have a feeling we will not see a reversal of climate change.
Regardless, if we are going to continue to grow as a population, we will need to develop all of our energy sources simultaneously, but we may live through an interesting time in regard to how the planet handles the additional energy in its semi-closed system.
I apologize. This post is a bit like trying to comprehend an entire book just by looking at the cover. The problems we face will require tackling one page at a time, but I do worry that the people making decisions may oversimplify energy and climate issues.
