August 2023
Update Oct 2023
Our modern world is awesome for many people (not most) but we need a “Reality Check” to see if our current life styles can be maintained by continuing to rape the planet of its resources.
The big question is “Can we adapt our modern lives so that we live in a renewable and sustainable way where we have little or no impact on the Planet?”
Humans have been very successful in procreation (making babies) and we have apparently gone from 2 people to now there are over 8 BILLION of us. We all need clean air to breathe. We all need feeding, clothing, housing and we all need to dispose of our waste – bio and other.
Early humans lived in a “renewable and sustainable” fashion. They apparently ate food that was available depending on the season. They built shelter from wood, mud and vegetation or they lived in caves. Clothing was obtained generally from animal skins. Animals were only killed for food (and clothing) and very little was wasted. Living like this had little or no impact on the Earth and apart from the smoke from wood fires, humans created very little airbourne pollution. Volcanoes were responsible for most of the airbourne pollution and might still be!
Unfortunately as the number of humans increased, wood apparently became in short supply and other materials had to be found to make shelter. Ultimately most (first world) humans have become parasites that make use of the Earths resources and give nothing in return, this has probably become more evident in the past 2 or 3 hundred years but it seems to have started 1000’s of years ago. Couple this with the gradual rise in human population and it can be seen that the Earths resources e.g, fossil fuels, and Ores will be more in demand and will be depleted quicker.
The Earths resources were created 4+ Millions of years ago and are not rewewable in the time frame that we are using them. This applies to anything we “mine” and / or extract from the Earths crust. When its gone its gone! When the fossil fuels have depleted, how will we heat our homes and get hot water. How will we fuel our transport. How will we create shelters and make clothing?
Fossil fuels (Coal, Gas and Oil) are currently of the greatest concern because estimates (maybe guestimates) show that Oil and Gas reserves might only last about 50 years, coal maybe 100 years. These figures are based on current usage and an estimate of future usage so these figures could be massaged to create panic but one thing for sure is that they will deplete at some point in the not to distant future. Fossil fuels are not rewewable or sustainable.
We need to be finding and using alternatives for Fossil fuels that are Renewable and Sustainable. This will be challenging with regards to (crude) Oil but there are alternatives to look at.
The current “Net Zero” bollux about reducing “Greenhouse Gases” to slow down Global Warming and “Climate Change” pales to insignificance when we look at the rapidly depleting fossil fuels and minerals. It is worth noting that the current level of CO2 in the atmospere is still LESS THAN 0.5% and hasn’t changed much over the past 140 years or so, when records began*. Some experts suggest that the CO2 levels were about 20% when Dinosaurs were living. There is some “evidence” that the polar caps were free of ice for a period of time during the 180 Million years of Dinosaur existence. It isn’t clear what happened to the CO2, to go from 20% to 0.5% is quite a change. When Dinosaurs existed, land masses were apparently covered in vegetation (inc Trees) and the seas were full of algae but the atmospheric levels of CO2 were much higher than today. The Dinosaurs became extinct when large parts of the Earth became covered in ice. Vegetation and algae would then have been unable to absorb the CO2 but over the 64 / 65 Million ensuing years, the CO2 levels dropped from 20% to less than 0.5%. What happened to the CO2, where did it go?
It just so happens that the rapidly depleting fossil fuels are being blamed for causing the “Greenhouse Gases”. Is that a coinsidence or a hidden agenda? Whatever the case, we need to be be looking at renewable sources.
*Weather records. There are conflicting ideas on when weather records began. Generally before 1880, there wasn’t enough records to give a global sitution but Geologists can look at records that are (literally) set in stone by way of core samples etc. These give indications of what the weather / climate was like due sediments and other things.
Ignoring the “Greenhouse Gases” thing, we ought to be using fuels and producing energy that has little or no pollution because we all need clean air to breathe and keep us healthy, as do animals and vegetation.
The burning of Fossil fuels is definetly not Planet, Human, Animal or Vegitation friendly but we are engineers and scientists, we could find ways of burning fossil fuels without causing pollution but I think the boat has sailed on that.
We need to find renewable and sustainable alternatives and while we’re at it we ought to be looking at ways in which we can live using sustainable and renewable methods in every way. We should stop being parasites and live our lives without negatively impacting this wonderful Earth. Is this possible? Yes but maybe not 100%.
A very good potential to replace fossil fuels would be “Bio Fuels” (Ethanol, Bio Gas and Methane). Humans and Animals produce a considerable amount of “Bio Waste” and it is fairly easy to use this “Bio Waste” to create Methane etc. With a rising population of over 8 BILLION humans and a lot more animals, the source for “Bio Fuels” is very much plentiful. We can add to this by using “vegetation” (including seaweed and trees).
Its a pity we can’t capture the BS that comes out of the mouths of Politicians and use it for fuel 🙂
Other potential “fuel” / “power” alternatives are:-
- Wind Power. When we have the right sort of wind, this can be a good option. The current wind “turbines” need a major re-think so that they are in use most of the time and not just when we have the right wind!
- Wave Power. The tides are pretty much guaranteed and the moving water is constant. There are several methods of making use of the tidal flow but it needs playing with a bit more to make it a viable power source.
- Water Power. From rivers and including dams is awesome, near constant supply of moving water that can power “mills” and turbines similar to 300+ years ago. Its a no brainer really. Modern day “Turbines” are a lot more effecient and can be smaller but greater in number. Imagine 1000s of turbines on the go 24/7 supplying power to the National Grid. The huge power stations would probably become redundant but we would still probably need small power stations as a backup.
- Geo Thermal Power. This an excellent source of power but is very costly to install.
- Heat Pumps. Can be a very good alternative for heating our homes and providing hot water. Not as costly to install as Geo Thermal but are better suited to new house builds with plenty of insulation and maybe Solar Panels. Retrofitting to old houses with poor insulation that currently use Gas boilers would not apparently be cost effective. Most reputable installers would advise against it.
- Hydrogen (Fuel cells or piped). Can be a good option but producing huge quantities of Hydrogen needs a lot of energy. It is considered to be a pollution (CO2) free fuel and in principle is renewable and sustainable but if the energy being used to “make / extract” hydrogen is not “Green”, this is questionable about its suitability.
- Solar Power. Can provide lots of electricity when there is sufficient light from the Sun. The use of Storage batteries is an enigma. Lithium used in batteries is a mined ore and is not renewable or sustainable and the additonal demand for Lithium is rising. Solar Farms often use Lead / Acid batteries instead of Lihium but Lead is also a mined ore. Solar farms need considerate siting to avoid using land that cannot support growing of crops or providing housing.
- Nuclear Power. This (currently) relies on Uranium, a mined ore and is not renewable or sustainable. However, if we can (ever) use “cold fusion” we can extract “Deuterium” from sea water inexpensively. It is disappointing that Nuclear Power has not yet become the fuel of choice. We have Nuclear Powered Submarines and other vessels that can remain out at sea for years without re-fuelling. Imagine having land transport with such capability or even the heating system for our homes. Miniaturised non polluting nuclear fuel plants / cells ought to be the future.
It can be seen that alternatives to fossil fuels are already there. Bio Fuels, Wave and water power are probably the easiest to implement and fully satisfy the renewable and sustainable aspect but probably doesn’t sit well with profiteers. The production of Electricity should be publicly / state owned to remove the profiteers and keep costs low.
Crude Oil gives us 1000s of products that make our daily lives easier so finding a replacement might be a challenge. We already grow vegetation that can be used to produce “Oil” of some sort e.g Canola / Rapeseed, Olive, Sunflower so it should not be too challenging to adapt but there are 100s of products that are a bi product of crude oil that may be difficult or impossible to replace.
Coal. is still used but not much in the UK. It might be more plentiful than Gas or Oil but it produces a lot of pollution. it is not renewable or sustainable so its probably best left in the ground.
Our modern world basically relies on Electricity. A world without Electricity is unthinkable, we would revert to the “Dark Ages”, literally. No lights, no Telly, no Internet, no Phones. An unthinkable nightmare.
Using Renewable and Sustainable methods to produce it is one thing but Generating and Distributing it presents more problems. We need “conductors” (cables / wires) and these are usually made of Copper, Aluminium and Gold which are all mined ores and are not be renewable and sustainable but can be recycled to reduce the depletion.
We also rely on other metals and materials, which are not rewewable and sustainable e.g. Tin, Iron, Slate, Limestone etc.
We need to “Unlearn and Rethink“.
We need to rethink how we humans can continue to survive without damaging the planet. We need to remove the profiteers and parasites to help us achieve our renewable and sustainable goals.
There are 2 things that are currently considered to be renewable and sustainable, Water and Silica (sand). Hydrogen is another option as it is considered to be the most abundant element and is a gas at room temperature. Unfortunately most of it is locked up in water and needs a lot of energy to release it. In addition to this we have algae in the seas and vegetation (inc trees) on the lands which are renewable and sustainable.
We are Scientists and Engineers. We have some brilliant minds. We are awesome when we put our minds together. We just need to remove the blinkers and look at the big picture. Removing greed and corruption would also be good and when it comes to producing Electricity, we need to make sure we all benefit from it and not have a handful of people getting rich.
We need to rethink the “Land Ownership” hoax because no human has any entitlement to own land. The Earth does not have a sales office or any way to process the purchase of land. This means that “Land Ownership” is a hoax that is achieved by force or threat of force. The Earth is some 4.5 BILLION years old, (modern) humans have only been on the planet for a lot less than a MILLION years. We are guests of this wonderful planet and have no entitlement to rape it of its resources or damage it in any way for our benefit.
We need to rethink about our societies and share the world.
If we have a few dozen £Billionaires that have the most wealth and own the most land but we have homeless people, foodbanks and people living in poverty (even when gainfully employed and still have to rely of “benefits” to survive) ; we are a failed society(s) we don’t deserve to survive! We deserve to become extinct like Dinosaurs.
We are all individuals and unique in some ways but no one is better or more important than anyone else. We are all born naked and need to breathe oxygen. We all need food and shelter. We all urinate and defacate. We are all born geniuses and quicky learn how to walk and communicate with others. The genius is knocked out of us by social dogma but a lot manage to continue to be free thinkers that thrive and grow both physically and mentally against all odds.
Some people are born into wealth, it doesn’t mean they are any better. It doesn’t mean they are more important than poor people. The survival of humans mainly depends on procreation (making babies). The process is the same for rich or poor, males are seed spreaders (most of which goes to waste) and females are seed harvesters. Females have the most important job in human survival because they grow new humans and rich or poor it is the same process. Females should never be considered as “Second-class citizens“. They produce our future generations, they should be celebrated and treated with utmost respect and consideration. Males are just seed spreaders!
The protection of “Individual Rights” should be paramount and supercede any other “rights“, including Human Rights. It isn’t clear who gave us “rights” or bestowed “rights” upon us but we do need rules to allow us all to live peacefully in societies and these rules should be based on morals. Morals are nothing to do with religion
The Moral Test (simplified).
If its good for me but bad for others it in not moral
If its good for me and good for others, it is moral
We are all individuals but we need to live together in peace and share the world. We humans are carbon based lifeforms and we need Oxygen to breathe and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) to survive
The planet provides us with the air we breathe, shelter from the elements and food to keep us healthy. We have no entitlement to damage this wonderful planet and we should all be living in a “renewable and sustainable” fashion. No single human or group of humans is more “entitled” to the air we breathe or shelter from the elements or food to keep us healthy. In principle we are all equal but in this topsy turvy world some are more equal than others!
“Renewable and Sustainable” with regards to energy (Electricity) means we need to use “fuel” that is renewable and sustainable in that it won’t run out and will be available in perpetude. We can do this.
“Renewable and Sustainable” with regards to food means that we shouldn’t “over fish” our oceans or create problems within the “Food Chain”. Our food needs to be renewable and sustainable. We can do this.
“Renewable and Sustainable” with regards to clothing means we need to rely on natural “fibres” e.g. Wool, Hair, Silk etc in addition to the plant based fibres e.g. Cotton, Hemp, Sisal, Nettle, along with man made natural fibres e.g. Viscose. In addition to animal skins e.g. Leather, Suede. We can do this but the many synthetic fabrics would have to go e.g. Nylon, Polyester, Acrylic, Polypropylene etc. It would probably mean we will end up paying more for clothing.
“Renewable and Sustainable” with regards to Shelter. Means that our houses need to be made of materials that are planet friendly and are available in perpetude without damaging the planet. This won’t be easy to do unless we go back to the “Cob” method of building shelter, basically mud and straw. Bricks need Clay and sticking the bricks together needs Limestone neither can be considered renewable or sustainable. We could use Wood, in particular Willow and Bamboo. Both are fast growing and are renewable and sustainable. Other Woods are not as fast growing but might be better.
“Renewable and Sustainable” with regards to “Plastics” is going to be a problem and will take a lot of ingenuity to find a replacement that is low cost and versatile. Seaweed / Algae are looking to be a possibility.
Ultimately the “Renewable and Sustainable” thing needs us all to “Unlearn & Re-Think“. We can achieve the “Renewable & Sustainable” ideology without much effort in most areas but there are certain areas where this is going to be a huge challenge. Getting rid of greed and corruption will help find solutions that benefit all and hopefully will result in causing less damage to our wonderful planet
Renewable and Sustainable might be a utopian dream that we can only achieve in part but anything we do to reduce or stop damaging the planet would be good.
Global warming will sort itself out, There is very little, if anything, we can do to stop Global Warming. We just need to adapt to the higher temperatures and potential increase in sea levels. It may mean we need to construct Biospheres. The current global warming started more than 1.2 Million years ago but about 1.2 Million years ago the Earth warmed enough to cuses This we don’t really have any reliable estimates of how much warmer the planet will get. The Polar ice caps are already melting and will continue to do so without any major increase in the current temperature but we don’t don’t really know. It is possible that the Earth will continue to warm by a few more degrees until the polar regions are free of ice and then Global Cooling will kick in. We cannot control the natural rhythm of the Universe.
Adapting to Renewable and Sustainable life styles will benefit us all and the planet. This will be easy for “3rd World” nations but “1st world nations” will find it very difficult. We can sort the “Energy” and maybe clothing but plastics are fantastic. Finding alternatives is a huge challenge. Recyling is probably the best we can do but we can only recycle some plastics.
With regards to stuff we mine (minerals), this is also going to be a huge challenge. The only alternative is to use “vegetation” (Algae, Bamboo, Willow etc) which is renewable and sustainable. Finding alternatives for “precious metals” (Gold, Silver, Platinum) and “precious stones” will probably be nigh on impossible but artificial Diamonds are being produced.
The ultimate aim is to stop raping the planet of its resources and using “renewable and sustainable” options so that humans have a zero impact on the planet and leave it in a good condition for our future generations.
The Tectonic plates are in constant flux and cause Earthquakes and often “remodeling” land masses. Volcanoes will continue to be active and spew out horrific amounts of airbourne pollution. Global Warming will continue in its (apparent) cyclic fashion until it becomes Global Cooling. Humans have absolutely no control of this or of any cosmic effects that occur in our Galaxy and Universe. The best we can do is to adapt to the natural changes but living in a renewable and sustainable fashion would mean that we are not contributing to the “Universal Cosmic” changes and this would enable us to live healthier lives that have little or no negative impact on this wonderful planet.