Rear Admiral Hyman Rickover gave an amazing speech in 1957 that predicted many of the energy-related issues we are now dealing with. https://ourfiniteworld.com/2007/07/02/s ... -peak-oil/
Rear Admiral Hyman Rickover is known as the father of the nuclear submarine. He was also instrumental in getting the United States started using nuclear power to generate electricity. He was an advisor to Jimmy Carter, who is known for his interest in renewable energy. The world would no doubt be much different if we had listened to Mr. Rickover’s ideas from more than 50 years ago and acted on them.
Excerpts:
-With high energy consumption goes a high standard of living.
-Whether this Golden Age will continue depends entirely upon our ability to keep energy supplies in balance with the needs of our growing population.
-A reduction of per capita energy consumption has always in the past led to a decline in civilization and a reversion to a more primitive way of life.
-The earth is finite. Fossil fuels are not renewable. In this respect our energy base differs from that of all earlier civilizations. They could have maintained their energy supply by careful cultivation. We cannot.
-For it is an unpleasant fact that according to our best estimates, total fossil fuel reserves recoverable at not over twice today’s unit cost, are likely to run out at some time between the years 2000 and 2050, if present standards of living and population growth rates are taken into account.
-I suggest that this is a good time to think soberly about our responsibilities to our descendants – those who will ring out the Fossil Fuel Age.
Well guess what folks, we didn't get the memo and we missed the boat