More importantly, unconventional oil and gas are getting produced in large quantities now in large part because of high prices, high enough to justify expensive and difficult extraction processes. Unless costs fall incredibly massively, fracking will not bring back the cheap oil of the 20th century.
Money is the straw utility function. There lies my hope in sunlight: if prices continue to fall down, it could drive fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, uranium…) out of business. Geothermal energy looks cool, and nuclear fusion would be cooler still. But they seem more distant than sunlight.
More importantly, unconventional oil and gas are getting produced in large quantities now in large part because of high prices, high enough to justify expensive and difficult extraction processes. Unless costs fall incredibly massively, fracking will not bring back the cheap oil of the 20th century.
Money is the straw utility function. There lies my hope in sunlight: if prices continue to fall down, it could drive fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, uranium…) out of business. Geothermal energy looks cool, and nuclear fusion would be cooler still. But they seem more distant than sunlight.