The End of Fossil Fuels: Part 2. Twilight or Dawn?

Part 2 will look toward a much more uncertain future beyond fossil fuels. With the judicious employment of the technologies we have learned – and with a bit of luck – we may be able to create a more harmonious balance with the rest of the biosphere, but only at substantially lower population levels and less consumptive habits.
Many studies have undertaken to describe how benign renewables might replace fossil fuels. A few of them have noted that population growth makes the task more difficult. Almost none of them turn the issue around and make the point that a smaller population will make it simpler. That is the central point I hope to make.

Once we have left the comforting but dangerous shelter of fossil fuels, we will necessarily turn to biomass, wind, direct solar energy and some more exotic sources. Biomass is traditional, and it is the most versatile form, but it will be a strictly limited resource unless human populations have grown much smaller, and the other renewables in sight can fill only a small part of the energy void, especially if demand does not decline dramatically.

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