USA - Energy experts warn of global energy crisis

World governments better do everything possible to develop sustainable fuel sources because a global energy crisis is on the horizon, according to Leonard Bond. Bond and other experts spoke at the Idaho Energy Symposium Saturday morning at Idaho State University. “We're going to need everything this planet can give us,” Bond told the crowd gathered in the university's Physical Science building. Bond, the Director of the Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho Falls, made grim predictions for current energy sources. He said global oil production will peak this year or next year and the supply could be exhausted by 2070. He said natural gas could be gone by 2025 and coal by 2150.

His solution? Nuclear energy. “The rest of the world is going to go nuclear whether we like it or not,” he said, adding that China has plans to build two new atomic power plants per year for the foreseeable future. Bond said the main problem with nuclear power in the United States is more political than technical, citing a collective “scare factor” in the minds of Americans. He said contrary to popular belief, the waste can be stored safely underground at facilities such as at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. By harnessing the power of the atom and recycling the spent fuel, he said people could generate enough energy to last the planet for hundreds of years. Bond also mentioned hydrogen technology for cars and other alternative sources such as biomass, geothermal and wind power. He said many will provide important niche roles in the future. Harold Blackman, an official with Idaho National Laboratory, spoke about the connection between energy and water. And Susan Capalbo, a Montana State University professor of agricultural economics, talked about storing carbon waste from fossil fuels underground.