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Our world and our nation are beginning to face energy shortages. This site is devoted to thoughts on what new replacement energy sources might maintain modern society after the coming decline in fossil carbon.
We will soon face declining energy supplies from oil, gas, and coal as fossil carbon becomes more difficult to extract. We are approaching geological, environmental, and economic limits, and the coming decline is already causing conflict and upheaval. Fossil carbon based energy will not completely disappear, but it will decline sharply, and the cuts will be deep. We need energy to grow and preserve food, move food and goods to market, and maintain all aspects of our modern world. By 2100 fossil carbon will provide only a small fraction of the energy we need to sustain an industrial society. We need to view this crisis from the perspective of what we want America in 2100 to be like. We will have to create a new era based on new ideas.
Our current situation is a crisis, but it is a crisis we can master. There is no technical reason why we cannot provide for ourselves, but if we avoid diligent and conscientious effort there will be widespread hurt and hardship. With work and far-sightedness, we can plan a future with adequate energy to maintain society.
Because public understanding is critical to making good policy choices, my aim here is to post information and a series of small books hopefully useful to the broad public. This site is directed at American readers, hence the name. It is my hope that others will take up the replacement energy issue for their own nations.