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The importance of an alternative to oil

will be necessary to have some sort of base capacity installed. In some areas tidal might be able to handle this, or geothermal in most though it will be necessary to use biomass or nuclear. Highly efficient breeder reactors that produce less waste should be considered for this. Europe especially France use much more nuclear power then us it would be a shame to not use this when it doesn't rely on fossil fuels and breeder reactors produce little long term waste. We must invest in energy storage to store excess power from wind, solar, and tidal to make the most efficient use possible of these resources. We should also invest in super conductor research as much of the power currently produced is wasted in line loss. Seed money should also be provided for eureka technologies, technologies that may seem far fetched but that have the potential to produce vast amounts of cheap power. Focus fusion, thermal depolymerization, cellulosic ethanol, and super capacitors are some of the more promising technologies being researched.

Efficiency should also be addressed but not in the typical ways that are normally seen in blog posts. People should not be chastised for their energy usage nor should they be ridiculed for wanting the best standard of living they can afford. Instead we should invest our energy and money in creating technology that gives consumers what they want but still save energy. LED and OLED lighting are perfect examples of technologies that can provide huge energy savings without requiring people to change their lifestyle. OLED TV would also be a much more efficient technology. Better insulations, and design(sky lights, thermal mass, passive heating/cooling) can lower monthly energy bills without significantly raising construction cost of new homes. Solar heating perhaps the cheapest and easiest way to save money on heating could become standard in building designs without sacrificing aesthetics. No one will complain when their electric bill is reduced simply by designing away inefficiencies.

For transportation the best solution long term is to use electric vehicles. The Tesla is a proof of concept for this. It is a desirable car that has great performance and is realistic for day to day use. Electric cars have several advantages. Most have fewer moving parts then internal combustion vehicles. Electric motors are far more efficient then internal combustion motors. Better electrical storage such as that claimed by Eestor would make them even more attractive.


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