• bane_killgrind@slrpnk.net
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    2 months ago

    Right but even renewable and abundant energy is scarce, in that it’s not infinite and mismanagement or inefficient use can mean it’s not there when you need it.

    Communal kitchens, bathrooms and toilets mean that all the energy, materials and manpower saved from deduplicated construction and maintenance can go somewhere else.

    • keepthepace@slrpnk.net
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      2 months ago

      Renewable and abundant is what we are going full speed towards. No need to mention infinity but we will clearly end up with more renewable energy production than fossil energy we are using now. Renewables are going to actually end scarcity of energy.

      • bane_killgrind@slrpnk.net
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        2 months ago

        It doesn’t make sense to shift all consumption to renewables if there’s no thought for efficient consumption or reducing consumption. There’s a finite amount of renewable energy that can be extracted, if consumption itself isn’t managed we can be right back in the same boat of unmet needs in another century.

        • keepthepace@slrpnk.net
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          2 months ago

          What do you think gets exhausted when we generate solar energy?

          The very point of renewables is to not consume resources to generate energy, but merely when installing capacities.

          And our current problem is not of unmet needs, it is of climate damage done by fossil fuels. Climate-wise, the planet would be better off if humans used 10x more energy in a sustainable way rather than using half as much without changing their energy mix.

          • bane_killgrind@slrpnk.net
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            2 months ago

            Not when solar is generated. Creating and maintaining infrastructure, and using space for infrastructure.

            Maybe your current problem isn’t unmet needs, but there are plenty of people who do have that problem.

            • keepthepace@slrpnk.net
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              2 months ago

              Not when solar is generated. Creating and maintaining infrastructure, and using space for infrastructure.

              So, what do you think gets exhausted when we are doing this?

              • bane_killgrind@slrpnk.net
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                2 months ago

                Time, materials, and physical space? Ideally all of the last two is reusable/ renewable after the end of lifespan on the piece of infrastructure, but in current supply chain it is not.

                • keepthepace@slrpnk.net
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                  2 months ago

                  I guess by “time” you mean “labor”. This is the first time I see this mentioned as a non-renewable resource.

                  How is “space” not renewable/reusable? You can destroy solar panels and put something else on its place.

                  All the materials used are abundant and in enough availability to multiply several times our current capacities, and as you point out, may even become reusable/recyclable at one point if it ever become economically profitable to do so. Or even before if we so desire.

                  • bane_killgrind@slrpnk.net
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                    2 months ago

                    Yes time in the context of labour and also time in terms of meeting targets to replace non-renewables.

                    Space may not be completely renewable, some is lost or the energy to remediate the space for use could be higher than the energy/utility we could gain from it.