Real Alternatives to Fossil Fuels

While solar and wind make poor replacements for fossil fuels, there is one alternative energy source that could potentially replace them: nuclear.Show more

In spite of coming into public view under the shadow of the atomic bomb, significant global investments in nuclear power plants were made from the mid-1960s up until the early 2000s. Unfortunately, tragedies such as the Chornobyl meltdown caused by Soviet incompetence and the fallout from the tsunami-damaged Fukushima power plant in 2011 led governments to close existing nuclear reactors and foreclosed the building of new ones.

The stagnation in global nuclear policy has occurred alongside an increase in climate change concerns.

While nuclear power is a proven, viable alternative to fossil fuels, a meaningful increase in nuclear power would require a significant change in political policies, as well as investment in next-generation energy infrastructure. These may be wise policies for the future, but they are not practical for those demanding a radical shift away from fossil fuels within the next decade.

For context, to replace fossil fuels with nuclear energy in twenty-eight years, four one-gigawatt nuclear power plants would have to be built every day. In the last thirty years, four gigawatts of nuclear capacity have been created only every 540 days.

Other alternatives to fossil fuels and green energy have been considered as well, including hydroelectric, geothermal, hydrogen fuel cells, and biomass.

None of these are in a position to replace fossil fuels within the next few decades. All of them have been the subject of additional objections by various interest groups that are concerned about global warming. For example, environmentalists have raised concerns about the impact of building hydroelectric dams.

Most importantly, the innovation required to come up with a new energy source that has fossil fuels’ benefits and little impact on emissions requires a very unique natural resource: human genius.

Only in a society that prioritizes human creativity and entrepreneurship can individuals make the sorts of breakthroughs necessary to revolutionize energy production. Yet it is precisely this human element that is ignored, and often explicitly demonized, in favor of “the end is near” hysterics.

The result is an intellectual environment that makes it difficult to seriously discuss the tradeoffs inherent to energy policy and environmental protection.

______________________________________

Want to learn more?

For more animated content, check out Economics for Beginners at https://BeginEconomics.org.