I just finished reading Beyond Oil by Deffeyes. The main point of the book is that world oil production has peaked and we need to find alternatives to fill the energy gap that will be created as oil production drops off. Deffeyes points out that heavy investment in research and development of alternatives should have started fifteen years ago. We need to start such research now, but that won’t help us in the next five to ten years. Deffeyes presents a few existing technologies that we need to focus on in the near term.
1. High Efficiency Diesel Engines: Current technology can achieve 90+ miles
per gallon and using new computer controls can reduce some of the engine pollution.
2. Coal Fired Electric Plants: Trap the carbon dioxide produced when the coal is burned and pump it underground to enhance oil recovery.
3. Wind Turbines: Turbine technology is well developed and Wyoming (and other locations) has lots of wind.
4. Nuclear Plants: Learn to stop worrying and love the cheap electricity.
Deffeyes also points out a few actions individuals can take to help the energy problem.
1. Buy a Hybrid Car and/or Move closer to work
2. Buy Local Crops to reduce food transportation energy
3. Switch to Fluorescent and LED Lighting
4. Upgrade Home insulation
For the most part I agree with Deffeyes. High efficiency diesel engines will certainly reduce the amount of oil we use, but I think hybrid engines and existing fuel cell technology should be used as well to limit the air pollution from diesel engines. Or what about a hybrid diesel-electric engine? I haven’t heard anything about that concept.
Coal electric plants make me nervous because of the air pollution they cause. Trapping the CO2 and other pollutants from the coal and storing them underground sounds great. My only question is do we really have the technology already to trap CO2? If we do, why haven’t we implemented that already?
Further implementation of wind turbines is a great idea, though I’d also add other alternative energy sources such as solar and geothermal to Deffeyes’ list.
Nuclear energy makes me worry as well. Maybe Deffeyes is right, that we need to stop worrying so much about nuclear energy, and enjoy its benefits. I’m not so much worried about the electric plant exploding as I am about the nuclear waste. Deffeyes points out the physical size of the nuclear waste produced is relatively small. That makes me feel good, but the waste has to be contained for 15,000 to 240,000 years. How exactly are we going to do that? 15,000 years is so long, it’s really beyond comprehension. We have no idea how much change the earth could go through in that time. Nuclear fusion sounds like a great solution. Deffeyes says it produces no radioactive waste, but is at least 20 years away.
The individual actions suggested by Deffeyes to reduce our energy consumption all make very good sense. I’ve heard about taking such actions before, so this wasn’t anything new to me.
Overall, I was somewhat disappointed in the book, but my disappointment was really my own fault. I didn’t do much research into this book before I purchased it and started reading. The title alone seemed reason enough to get the book. My disappointment was largely due to the fact the book primarily discusses the state of oil in the world and other possible fossil fuel replacements, such as natural gas, coal, tar sands, and oil shale. I feel we need to move away from fossil fuels by using renewable energy sources and promoting energy efficiency and conservation. The book does discuss nuclear and hydrogen energy options, but does not discuss renewable energy sources in any depth. The book sticks to the topics that Deffeyes is familiar with. He is a geologist and therefore most renewables are outside his realm of expertise. I would still have expected some discussion of geothermal energy.
I did find the overall conclusion and message of the book very interesting. I knew world oil was running out, but I didn’t realize we are already at or past the peak.
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