Long-Term Energy Solutions: The Truth Behind the Silent Lie

Will unchecked population growth catastrophically exhaust fossil fuels? France generates 77% of its electricity from nuclear power plants, while the US generates only 20%. Why? Because France has severely limited fossil fuel resources. The US has 5% of the world’s population but consumes 40% of fossil fuels. Working on the numerator rather than the denominator of per capita fossil fuel consumption seems more humane and practical. More important, there is no compelling reason to sustain such a heavy reliance on a power source that has devastating health, safety, environmental, and geopolitical impacts.

Nuclear, solar, and wind energy are far safer and cleaner than, and economically competitive with, fossil fuels for electricity production. The existing power grid might allow local hydrogen generation by electrolysis for use as a transportation fuel along with biofuels. Legislation and tax policies could easily and gradually be initiated to encourage clean and carbon dioxide–neutral electricity and transportation fuel production and discourage fossil fuel consumption. Making these energy sources even safer and more economical would seem a better thing for physicists to set their minds to than playing God with world populations. There is also much to do in educating the public about the relative risks of various energy sources.