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Asked by one23 to David, Luna, Mark, Melanie, Probash on 19 Mar 2011 in Categories: General.
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Mark Vesey answered on 18 Mar 2011:
Nuclear power currently is the only real alternative to fossil fuels and is being used in many countries at the moment. Developing the technology further will improve efficiency and add further reason for increased use of nuclear power.
In addition to Nuclear power, Geothermal, Hydroelectric & renewables such as wind and solar can be used to replace some of the fossil fuels.
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David Pyle answered on 18 Mar 2011:
An interesting question, as both oil and nuclear have had a bad year in terms of high-visibility accidents. I’d expect that investment in all sorts of renewables (wind, solar, wave, geothermal) and biofuels might increase over the next few years. The high oil price means that other options may not look so expensive as they were in the past, and makes them more attractive to investigate. Whatever the outcome, I imagine the best outcomes would be firstly to have a more diversified energy sector (to spread the risk), and secondly to do a lot better at reducing consumption.
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Melanie Stefan answered on 19 Mar 2011:
Good question. I think electric cars are the way to go, although it would take a lot of effort to convince political decision-makers and to change the infrastructure to accommodate for them. I am a skeptic as far as biofuels are concerned, because I really think it’s better to eat that stuff than to put it in our cars! In general, we might have to learn to get around with less fuel, like using more public transport, buying locally, and cutting down on long-distance flights.
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Luna Munoz answered on 19 Mar 2011:
This is not my area, but I hope that we can take advantage of solar and wind power. Oh, and isn’t rapeseed a good substitute for petrol?
Comments
Luna commented on :
I thought short-distance flights were worse than long-distance, since we might not really be able to do away with flights to California 😉 but that flying from Newcastle to London is very costly for the environment and easily substituted with mass transit options (trains).
Melanie commented on :
Good point! In that sense, yes, short-distance flights are worse than long-distance. But I think there is also a lot of potential for cutting down on long-distance flight, for instance, by carefully choosing our holiday destination and by replacing some face-to-face work meetings with video calls.
Luna commented on :
Cool! Thanks. So participating (especially you for being so far away) in I’m A scientist is good for the environment, since we are using alternative ways of meeting students from across the UK. Go us!