that we can go on polluting the planet, without immediately dieing from carbon in the atmosphere.

but i do wish there was some way for people to get rich by reducing population, non-violently. the only long term solution for homo saps is stable population, probably under 10% of the current level. clearly, we aren't going to figure this out until there's a profit in it.

maybe a sterilization bonus? have one child, or none, and retire.

The irony of the author's title is that "humanity" has already been subsumed by modernity. What "humanity" needs is a catacalism (say in the form of an oil crash) followed by a re-civilizing along more sensible lines. What is the point of having an endless energy source? So we can continue the mindless build-out of the human footprint and accommodate even more dehumanized humans living their pointless lives in the service of distant capital? So we can have a Long John Silvers in every small town? So we can turn the earth into the death star,a planet resembling a giant microchip? No thanks.I'd rather take my chances on the shaky bridge to something new.

matt felix

no, no, not a death star. Trantor.

I'm so fucking tired of the proposition that we should reduce population to 10% of what it is now. And how do you propose to go about this, bro? Who goes first? And who gets to pick? Perhaps we should start with the disabled, you know, out of racial hygiene concerns. And then we'll move on to the gypsies and the teeming dark people who reproduce too much. You pig. You fucking pig. You fucking luddite genocidal maniac. You belong in Nuremberg. Go away.

Using a catalyst to effect hydrolysis directly (without first generating electricity) already exists and is being developed in Europe. This is beneficial because:

1. Produces hydrogen that can be stored and/or directly used in fuel cells.

2. Is low cost and uses less carbon based energy to manufacture.

3. Provides energy when the sun is not shining.

4. Will be scalable due requiring less surface area.

But all is moot since not enough people care about developing alternative energy, changing their lifestyle and making the necessary sacrifices for humans to survive. We still do not have a majority of people who are willing to recycle in the US.

There is a system from Sweden that is now in the demonstration phase which uses the linear mirror concentrator in a hybrid system. It basically consists of a sun-tracking linear parabolic reflective trough at whose focus are water-cooled photovoltaic cells. These cells generate 230V electricity, and the water used for the cooling of those cells is heated to 50C. The water can be used to supply the usual hot water needs of any facility so equipped. In its current configuration, it is designed for institutional installations, but one could see such a system being scaled for residential applications. This system does not, of course, pretend to provide the volume of highly heated fluids that could be stored for nighttime or cloudy day power generation, but it does potentially offer the capabilities of photovoltaic panels as well as solar water heating combined into one scalable unit. If this unit could be made practical for individual users, and combined with efficient storage of electrical power is generated, it could free these users from sole reliance on the centralized collection and distribution of electrical power envisaged in this article. This opens the way for off-grid or grid feeding installations by individuals. The company is Arontis AB, and their website address is http://www.arontis.se/

The future of energy generation will likely not be limited to just one system. Diverse approaches will be necessary, and indeed, desirable.

Letting the world's overpopulation come in for a soft landing is not inherently fascistic and would not require any kind of genocide. (To the contrary, the actual fascism of 20th-century Europe embraced forced pro-population programs, for the "right" sort of people, of course; and in the extreme case of Romania [Stalinist or neo-fascist?], the dictators decreed illegal all forms birth control, with horrifying consequences.)

Birth rates are already falling all over the world with no encouragement from governments or any organized bodies, just individuals and couples deciding on their own how many kids they want to have. All it will take is for the global birth rate to fall moderately below the population's natural replacement rate (which I believe is 2.1 children per woman, men being irrelevant here...) for the overall population to decrease. A decrease of 1 percent per year, if sustained long enough (230 years), will reduce population to 10% of its current level.

(1) The joke: Folks, whadya mean, renewable? CSP requires that hydrogen be consumed, i.e., fused. They're gonna be used up and gone forever.

(2) The real need: To elect as president the candidate with the political skill to point the United States in the right direction. I hope it will be the United States, but leadership can come from anywhere. In fact, it looks like it already has.

Now I can exhale!

What matt felix and his ilk want is an apocalypse.

Well, as I say to all my crazy Christian friends...you first! If you want to depopulate the planet, be my guest. Lead by example. Just leave me out of it.

Anyway, as for solar, it'd be nice, but even the co-founder of Greenpeace has seen the nuclear light. Wake up and smell the thorium, people.

I actually agree with you that controlling population growth through proactive policies is the best way to manage our dwindling natural resources. But, I think that proactive, malthusian policies don't have to be coercive (such as the one-child policy in China), and some can be very empowering. It is said that sex-ed and microcredit for women have done wonders to put a check on population growth in rural India. The point here is that is doesn't have to be done in this sort of apocalyptic hysteria - you know like reading Paul Erlich or theoildrum.com and suddenly realizing that "Oh my god we're all gonna die!!!!"