Anti-Capitalist Sentiment (with some morality)

[OngBonga]

Geothermal never will be. Never. Not ever. It works only in certain regions and can't be exported that easily. Iceland has so much of it because of its position on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge divergent plate. No other regions can do what Iceland can

This is emphatically not true. We're not on a tectonic plate fault. We have zero volcanoes. We do have huge geothermal potenital though. Based on current known technology it seems we could reach 20% of electrical consumption and 100% of our heat needs thanks to geothermal. If instead of fighting wars we invested in geothermal, we'd be sorted. But the energy companies won't be happy about that because they won't be able to sell it for as much. If people can heat their water for free, that's gonna cause British Gas shares to plummet.

There's a million things that go into making oil a viable source too. We're drilling under the sea for fuck's sake. How can that ever be cheaper and more efficient than drilling a hole on land? Oil is limited, there's only so much you can take from a well before it runs dry. Not so with geothermal. The energy potential within the Earth is obviously sufficient to meet our needs, I don't think you can argue that. But we either already could create the technology to move forward with it, or we damn well should be able to.

[wufwugy]

We do have huge geothermal potenital though. Based on current known technology it seems we could reach 20% of electrical consumption and 100% of our heat needs thanks to geothermal.

Show me the evidence

I'm having an impossible time finding one credible source that doesn't say the exact same things I have. Geothermal isn't that transportable, and estimates of potential use are greatly exaggerated (as they are in all forms of energy exploration). Viable geothermal only exists in certain locations

If instead of fighting wars we invested in geothermal, we'd be sorted. But the energy companies won't be happy about that because they won't be able to sell it for as much. If people can heat their water for free, that's gonna cause British Gas shares to plummet.

Chevron loves its geothermal. It has the biggest plant in the world, after all. And no, it isn't free. Still a bunch of stuff to pay for with it. Geothermal is probably about as cheap as nuclear would be or easily accessible coal mines used to be. Your dystopian view of industry is naive. If geothermal was exactly as you say it is, it would be incredibly profitable and the biggest companies would be outbidding each other to get at it. In fact, companies would end up making more on geothermal than coal. Like, a shitload more. They still have to pay for the plants and all the engineers and workers for design and maintenance, just like with nuclear plants. If the energy was so cheap relative to coal, they would be able to charge less than coal while making higher profits due to lower overhead

There's a million things that go into making oil a viable source too. We're drilling under the sea for fuck's sake. How can that ever be cheaper and more efficient than drilling a hole on land? Oil is limited, there's only so much you can take from a well before it runs dry. Not so with geothermal. The energy potential within the Earth is obviously sufficient to meet our needs, I don't think you can argue that. But we either already could create the technology to move forward with it, or we damn well should be able to.

You straight up do not know how geothermal works. Or oil, for that matter. A big reason why there is so little geothermal use is because of "wells running dry" problems. Just because the earth makes things hot doesn't mean it's easy peasy to power homes and cars with it


I am unconvinced you are reading anything I've said. You're trying to counter by extrapolating what Iceland can do with what other places, like Brazil, could do. Like it or not, oil and coal are so popular largely because of that packaging I already told you about. It can be pulled out of anywhere and shipped anywhere. Geothermal cannot and never will. If you want to power most of the world on geothermal, you will never, ever, ever, ever, ever succeed.