by Aaron Dollhausen

Created on: July 25, 2009

If any alternative to oil is to be broadly accepted by the world's teeming billions, it must perform like oil, span many different energy requirements like oil, fulfill all of the energy needs like oil does, and adapt to the dominant technological model that has been used for about a century- internal combustion. This is just the energy side of the equation. The other side of the equation is just as demanding. Any alternative must not harm the environment either in its use or creation, it must be plentiful and easily accessible, it must be reasonably priced, and it may not potentially disappear in the future.

Unfortunately, no one alternative can fulfill all of the requirements that oil has provided ever since oil became the dominant energy provider. Each has their intrinsic problems.

But we have no choice but to find an alternative to oil. Add to that coal and natural gas. Why does an alternative have to be found? Oil, coal, and natural gas will run out completely within the next one hundred years. This is an estimate; these sources of energy may run out sooner or they may run out later. But, within whatever timeframe, they will disappear completely from the planet Earth. In other words, an alternative to oil, coal, and natural gas absolutely must be found.

Humanity is in a race to find an alternative to oil, coal, and natural gas that fulfills all the requirements I stated in my opening paragraph, but neither be oil, coal, nor natural gas. The problem, as I stated previously, in all of the alternatives that have ever been researched, attempted, or even used, no one alternative exists.

Before I continue, let me digress a little and elaborate why oil, natural gas, and coal will disappear. Simply put, they are not renewable. Each has a finite amount that cannot be replaced. Each is derived from sources which took millions of years to create.

Crude oil, natural gas, and coal are the product of millions of year's worth of compression and heating of organic materials like plant and animal matter.

In order for each energy source to be renewable, millions of years must pass and they must be used now. Except, time travel is not possible. We cannot travel millions of years into the future, extract oil, coal, and natural gas, then ship it millions of years into the past and use it today. Any alternative must be made today and used today.

The near future of energy consumption will come from a variety of sources. The best scenario for oil alternatives is to use

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