Science and technology have been a boon to humankind and have greatly increased the human carrying capacity of the earth. Their requirements for huge quantities of energy, and reliance on fossil fuels for the supply, have long been a problem for the environment. Now, because of global climate change (GCC), the effects of Science and Technology constitute a threat to the very habitability of the earth. The cold fusion announcement in 1989 came very soon after the many laws and regulations worldwide came into effect to protect the environment starting about in the 1970s. Unfortunately, instead of being pursued for its energy benefits to respond to the impacts of fossil fuels, cold fusion (now often referred to as low energy nuclear reaction, LENR) was rejected by mainstream science. Now more than 30 years after the announcement, LENR energy is needed more than ever to mitigate GCC and its impacts. LENR can also ameliorate the effects of centuries-long use of fossil fuels and their environmental effects. Many factors influence how LENR will be able to displace fossil fuels. Perhaps the most important factor is reversal of current negative public policies for LENR research and development support. Much greater investment is needed to resolve issues of inadequate experimental reproducibility and thorough theoretical understanding. Other factors are the quality (temperature) of produced energy, the amount of required input energy to reactors, suitability for different energy end use sectors (including transportation), and the percentage of total fossil fuel consumption by the different end use sectors being displaced. Besides fossil fuel displacement, LENR energy will be very useful to deal with the now-inevitable GCC impacts and needed responses to the effects of past and continued uses fossil fuels. To reduce the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere, LENR energy may be used to remove it from the atmosphere directly or by taking it out of the flue gas of fossil fuel power plants. LENR energy may become important for dealing with large-scale GCC effects, such as sea level rise, more intense storms, coastal erosion, wildfires and air pollution, and changes in water availability and use. Because of the very large numbers of locations of fossil fuel facilities and their impacts around the world, LENR energy will be needed for cleanup operations for decades to come. Another application of LENR energy will be to power pollution control technologies, such as sulfur dioxide scrubbers at power plants, for the expected long transition from fossil fuels to LENR energy.
Read full abstract- All Solutions
Editage
One platform for all researcher needs
Paperpal
AI-powered academic writing assistant
R Discovery
Your #1 AI companion for literature search
Mind the Graph
AI tool for graphics, illustrations, and artwork
Journal finder
AI-powered journal recommender
Unlock unlimited use of all AI tools with the Editage Plus membership.
Explore Editage Plus - Support
Overview
83 Articles
Published in last 50 years
Related Topics
Articles published on Human Carrying Capacity
Authors
Select Authors
Journals
Select Journals
Duration
Select Duration
77 Search results
Sort by Recency