Quote:
Originally Posted by Monahammer
No question that fossil fuels are currently the cheapest and most energy dense forms available. They were also some of the easiest to access technologically, and thus developed first.
I think there does need to be some thought in why those forms are currently the cheapest to access though. It's not black and white as either of you are presenting, but instead muddied by a history of actions- some by actors not even directly in favor of petroleum products necessarily. E.G. Ford and GM crushing electric tram/ streetcar networks with funding to ensure more car sales.
small point of interest: Electric vehicles were actually more common than gasoline at the turn of the 20th century, but a lack of electricity infrastructure hampered continued development. Perhaps earlier investiture in broad electric infrastructure would have changed that?
Anywas, Belsarius misses that a huge part of the problem with energy transition is that fossil fuels are just so damn cheap, convenient, and easy to get energy from. But there is a larger point to be made looking back on just how dominant they have become.
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I highly doubt that. Even with our most advanced material science and microprocessors to manage them, they are just now becoming a reasonable option. Think of the tech in chargers, batteries(like porous membranes), even the motors require high precision controllers to use efficiently. Without the ability to manufacture as we can today, it just wouldn't possible. It's one of those things that uses so many different aspects of science that requires them to all come together.