(Matthew Russotto)
You're partially right, but -
'Energy' may be abundant, but you're forgetting that the energy-conversion INFRASTRUCTURE we've invested in is almost entirely designed around petro-coal energy sources.
That new SUV is gonna be on the road for 25 years or more and even if some gee-whiz fuel-cell technology arrives tomorrow that SUV isn't gonna be scrapped or converted. That nice new coal-fired power plant is gonna REMAIN a coal-fired power plant for 50+ years ... unless you plan to start selling "Nuke Steam-Generators on a Flatbed" they can just roll up and plug in. Zillions of new houses and industrial facilities come with oil-gas heating and cooling - units that aren't cheap. Are we gonna scrap 'em all ?
In short, we're kinda STUCK with the world we've built, medium-term anyhow.
I'll happily advocate the construction of "inherently safe" nuke plants (the 'pebble-bed' design is almost ready to rock) by the hundreds. Wouldn't even mind having one of those in my back yard. I'll happily advocate exploiting some of the less 'perfect' hydro resources too. Wind, photo, tidal, geo ... those are more iffy and may fail the bang-4-the-buck test.
If we had truely abundant sources of electricity then yes, we COULD even synthesize hydrocarbon fuels for the older parts of the infrastructure and applications where they're largely indespensible (autos, trucks, aircraft). I'd advocate producing methanol from coal or biombutt and water. A good motor fuel.
"We want our Social Security !"
"We want our Medicare !"
"We want our 'welfare' checks !"
"We want our cheap medications !"
"We want cheap food !"
"We want cheap housing !"
"We want free medical care !"
"We want the roads fixed !"
"We want cheaper cell-phones !"
"We want faster cars !"
"We want city water-sewerage-garbage-service !"
"We want more govt programs !"
"We want high-paying jobs !"
"We want our MTV !"
We hear this stuff CONSTANTLY - and LOUDLY - every damned day and the USA *is* a 1st-world country. Now you're suggesting that significant 'downsizing' would go over just fine ... ? Drop to a 2.5th-world nation and there would be vast riots, unrest and insurrection. Having tasted the best, we'd rather die - or more exactly KILL - than go back to mediocre crap once again.
Forget it. Our energy consumption isn't gonna decrease. We want it to live, we NEED it to compete. It's not an indictment, it's just a fact. Nothing wrong with the 1st-world lifestyle - EVERYBODY wants it. But there's a price, and a trap ...
