"Our dependency on oil should be broken by 2020."

[mentalfloss]

Not a new article or concept by any means, but I was just wondering how soon we would be able to rid of our dependency on this type of resource. Sweden looks to be the first oil-free nation by 2020...

"Our dependency on oil should be broken by 2020," said Mona Sahlin, minister of sustainable development. "There shall always be better alternatives to oil, which means no house should need oil for heating, and no driver should need to turn solely to gasoline."

Sweden plans to be world's first oil-free economy | Environment | The Guardian


But what about the rest of us??

At least 66 countries, including 27 EU countries have renewable energy policy targets of some type. The EU baseline target is 20% by 2020. While the USA does not have a national RET, 29 of its states do. Similarly Canada has 9 provincial RETs but no national target.

So we don't really have a target year?

Why is this?

 

[CDNBear]

Why is this?

Ineffectual and nonexistent policy, reinforced by NIMBY's.

 

[Durry]

Oil dependency will exist in Canada for at least the next 50 years.
There is absolutely nothing on the horizon to replace it.
Alternative energy sources are not stable and will always need oil as a back up !!

 

[mentalfloss]

Well the good news is that solar energy will cost less than coal in 2020.

This should at least reduce our dependency by a huge margin, shouldn't it?

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

Oil dependency will exist in Canada for at least the next 50 years.
There is absolutely nothing on the horizon to replace it.
Alternative energy sources are not stable and will always need oil as a back up !!

Nonsense, just look at roll-to-print solar cell technology and geothermal as a couple of renewable energy sources that if adequately funded could begin to take up serious demand for energy right now.

And even though the tsunami in Japan has given nuclear power a black eye, fourth generation nuclear technology promises virutally unlimited power as it can convert elements like thorium to fissionable U-233 and will allow the consumption of hundreds of thousands of tons of trans-uranic actinides that are now being stored as waste in the US and Canada. Fourth generation nuclear would also make extracting Uranium from sea water economical, a supply that could potentially last over 1 billion years.

People believe that we're stuck with oil because we keep getting told we are by industry affiliated and/or employed advocates... like our PM Harper.

 

[Durry]

Solar technology, hey, this is Canada, we're in the north!
How do you get solar cells to work when there is no sun??
Nuclear, has some potential but the uranium disposal is still a problem.

No, oil dependency is around for the next 50 yrs, like it or not, and accept it or not, it's here for our lifetime!!

 

[mentalfloss]

Solar technology, hey, this is Canada, we're in the north!
How do you get solar cells to work when there is no sun??

Ontario, Quebec and the Prairies would do just fine. In fact they would be fairly plentiful and would be able to provide energy for the other parts of the country. I'm sure once we go full throttle, the sovereignty warlords will make sure Quebec gives up some of their solar energy.

 

[CDNBear]

Ontario, Quebec and the Prairies would do just fine. In fact they would be fairly plentiful and would be able to provide energy for the other parts of the country. I'm sure once we go full throttle, the sovereignty warlords will make sure Quebec gives up some of their solar energy.

You make valid point mentalfloss.

How do you plan to sway the NIMBY's?

There's a test wind farm not 5 minutes from my home. I have no issues with it. But the NUMBY's here blew a nut when they built it.

They would to expand on it, possibly put some out in Lake Simcoe. But again, the NIMBY's.

A major stumbling block in a democracy.

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

Solar technology, hey, this is Canada, we're in the north!
How do you get solar cells to work when there is no sun??
Nuclear, has some potential but the uranium disposal is still a problem.

No, oil dependency is around for the next 50 yrs, like it or not, and accept it or not, it's here for our lifetime!!

Obviously there are times of the year when solar would be less effective, but in the middle of the summer when the sun is up for almost 18 hours in many places who wouldn't want a car which refuels itself while parked or a house that stores energy all day and could even feed power back into the grid making a profit. Plasma drilling now allows us to reach levels where the Earths interior heat can be tapped and turned into electricity with water vapour as a emission.

As for nuclear, fourth generation fast neutron reactors consume about 99% of the fuel used where as slow neutron reactors now in operation only consume about 1% which is responsible for the large amount of waste. Most of the waste from fourth generation nuclear reactors is also the much shorter lived lighter radioactive isotopes which break down into inert material in a matter of decades, not the millenia of the tran-uranic actinides produced in large amounts now.

People who claim we're stuck with fossil fuels are suffering from a lack of vision.

 

[CDNBear]

Obviously there are times of the year when solar would be less effective, but in the middle of the summer when the sun is up for almost 18 hours in many places who wouldn't want a car which refuels itself while parked or a house that stores energy all day and could even feed power back into the grid making a profit. Plasma drilling now allows us to reach levels where the Earths interior heat can be tapped and turned into electricity with water vapour as a emission.

As for nuclear, fourth generation fast neutron reactors consume about 99% of the fuel used where as slow neutron reactors now in operation only consume about 1% which is responsible for the large amount of waste. Most of the waste from fourth generation nuclear reactors is also the much shorter lived lighter radioactive isotopes which break down into inert material in a matter of decades, not the millenia of the tran-uranic actinides produced in large amounts now.

People who claim we're stuck with fossil fuels are suffering from a lack of vision.

Can I pose the same question to you, that I posed to mentalfloss?

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

Can I pose the same question to you, that I posed to mentalfloss?

Which is?

The NIMBY effect?

 

[mentalfloss]

You make valid point mentalfloss.

How do you plan to sway the NIMBY's?

There's a test wind farm not 5 minutes from my home. I have no issues with it. But the NUMBY's here blew a nut when they built it.

They would to expand on it, possibly put some out in Lake Simcoe. But again, the NIMBY's.

A major stumbling block in a democracy.

Nimby's drive cars too.

 

[CDNBear]

Which is?

The NIMBY effect?

Yep.

Nimby's drive cars too.

Yes they do, and that doesn't seem to give them much to stop and think about.

You can have the best of the best, master plan. Hell, I bet most of the NIMBY's around here, vote Liberal. But for all the fooferall, at the end of the day. People care more about their lawn than the environment.

It's not really the technology you have to sell, I've been sold for years. I actually care about the environment as a whole.

The last, and greatest hurdle, are the NIMBY's.

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

It's going to hard to convince a lot of people to accept things like a nuclear power plant in their backyard but you need to put the Fukushima disaster in context. The plant was built in a very dangerous location, was an obsolete design slated for de-commisioning and had a serious design flaw in the that the emergency diesel generators were not placed high enough to escape the worst predicted wave height of a historical tsunami.

Even with a large scale release of nuclear radiation, the accident in Japan isn't going to come close to the estimated 1,000,000 people worldwide every year who die from fossil fuel related pollution. Even if you don't factor in climate change fossil fuel pollution is a serious problem right now. I'd rather have a fourth generation nuclear power plant located near me than a coal fired generator. There's far more radioactive material associated with coal production and burning than nuclear with all the regulations on nuclear power production. Carbon is an excellent sponge and soaks up much of the radioactive material in the environment around it.

 

[Durry]

People who claim we're stuck with fossil fuels are suffering from a lack of vision.

If anyone thinks we can do without fossil fuels, they are suffering from a Lack of practicality.
Maybe they still believe in Santa Clause as well !!

 

[Cobalt_Kid]

If anyone thinks we can do without fossil fuels, they are suffering from a Lack of practicality.
Maybe they still believe in Santa Clause as well !!

It's a psychological dependency, not a technical one, read my posts or do a little research yourself. People who claim we're stuck with coal/oil/gas, need to get off their ideological couch and get a little mental exercise in exploring the alternatives we could be funding right now.

 

[Durry]

"1,000,000 people worldwide every year who die from fossil fuel""

Where did this number come from ??

 

[Machjo]

Not a new article or concept by any means, but I was just wondering how soon we would be able to rid of our dependency on this type of resource. Sweden looks to be the first oil-free nation by 2020...

Sweden plans to be world's first oil-free economy | Environment | The Guardian


But what about the rest of us??



So we don't really have a target year?

Why is this?

And Sweden's mnade many collective sacrifices to get there. Nothing a country full of me-me-me voters could ever achieve.

 

[Durry]

People who claim we're stuck with coal/oil/gas, need to get off their ideological couch and get a little mental exercise in exploring the alternatives we could be funding right now.

Oh, people should do this eh, it's always the other guys responsibly, isn't it !!

 

[CDNBear]

It's a psychological dependency, not a technical one, read my posts or do a little research yourself. People who claim we're stuck with coal/oil/gas, need to get off their ideological couch and get a little mental exercise in exploring the alternatives we could be funding right now.

Where do we get materials for clothing? Chemicals to build and/or facilitate the production of and maintaining of green tech?

We will never be truly free of oil.

And Sweden's made many collective sacrifices to get there. Nothing a country full of me-me-me voters could ever achieve.

Too true.