Peak Oil – Peak Technology

As the energy crisis intensifies, a myriad of technical solutions are being proposed. Most were investigated in depth during the first two energy crisis of the 1970s. There is a wealth of information available from that period. Nor did research stop in the ensuing 25 years. A serious societal problem is the lack of understanding of the options, their history and their limitations. History gives a sense of the possible speed and cost of implementation, as well as the limits of the technologies themselves. Governments, corporations and scientists are not offering new creative solutions, not because they are failing to make strong efforts, but because energy itself is a very mature industry.
It is frequently stated in the press that “we must find a new source of energy,” preferably one that is both clean and inexhaustible. Although this seems to be a reasonable statement it is somewhat equivalent to saying that we must find a new species of animal, or a new planet, or a new continent. This context may appear trivial but is it no more likely that we will find some new mineral that will provide the volumes of energy which have been available for consumption from burning fossil fuels. Minerals exist in the earth and water and new ones were continually found for several centuries. But like species and planets, there are a fixed number of them.
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The probability of a “technofix” becomes less and less probable as time goes by. And, as always happens with technologies that are oversold, unforeseen problems begin to arise, tarnishing the “miracle.” The limitations of wind power, as it becomes more widely distributed, also become more apparent. Two recent papers are examples of this. One paper (3) suggests that wide distribution of wind turbines in the U.S. could cause a temperature increase. The other paper (4) is a summary of the experiences of a major German power company which utilizes wind turbines, pointing out major implementation difficulties. Many writers show that the “hydrogen miracle”, and its “fuel cell” partner, are fading rapidly. Its becoming more apparent that the electric car is a better option than the fuel cell car (5). California’s decision to stop their impressive efforts on electric cars and substitute the fuel cell vehicle looks more and more like a tragedy. And the misleading idea that hydrogen will benefit the environment is now being challenged. (6). Fortunately the popular magazines are no longer following the hydrogen herd but are beginning to articulate the serious problems (7)
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Western man can continue a few more decades on this path. Worshiping the god of technology has blinded us to the reality of our situation and the huge negative consequences that have come from this intoxication, some of these consequences including degradation of soil, air and water as well as biological diversity. It is vital that we recognize the limitations while there is still time. It is equally vital that we begin to look upon institutional science not as simply the creator of miracles but as representative of a world view that has always argued for technological advance no matter what the cost to planet and people. Wisdom is now needed to overcome the ignorance caused by an almost religious fixation with science and technology.

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