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Surviving 1,000 Centuries pp 213–252Cite as

The Future of Survivability: Energy and Inorganic Resources

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Abstract

An ample supply of energy is an essential requirement for the continuation of our civilization. We need energy to heat or cool our houses, to move cars, trains and aircraft, to power our machines and computers and to run our chemical industry. Current energy production comes mainly from oil, natural gas and coal, which are derived from biomass accumulated over many millions of years, and thus represent past solar energy buried underground. The solar energy ultimately comes from the nuclear fusion reactions that take places in the hot interior of the Sun and convert hydrogen into helium. Not surprisingly, attempts are being made to extract energy from the same reactions on Earth, but it has not yet been possible to confine the hot gas in the small volume of a reactor. However, nuclear reactors based on radioactive uranium have been successful and contribute modestly to present-day energy supplies. Again, ultimately the energy comes from a celestial source, the violent supernova events (exploding stars) during which the uranium has been synthesized, which was later incorporated into our Solar System.

It would seem to be a fact that the remotest parts of the world are the richest in minerals and produce the finest specimens of both animal and vegetable life. Herodotus

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(2008). The Future of Survivability: Energy and Inorganic Resources. In: Surviving 1,000 Centuries. Springer Praxis Books. Praxis. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-74635-7_7

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