At some point technology will stop/fail. Anyone who thinks there is no end possible missed that this is a finite planet and misses that the entire economic premise which we've been operating under has disregarded this fundamental (belief that there can be perpetual growth on a finite planet fails even the most simplest tests of logic).
Most people here have ZERO clue about what life in the majority of the world is like. It's really easy to "imagine" things outside of reality. As noted, economies of scale is essential for the wide-scale pushing out of any product. Take a look around on the CIA's world info web site and you'll see the warning signs coming via demographics. Look around you, here in the "land of plenty" and see how in-debt the young are today and ask how that is going to turn around (as demographics will continue to, for several decades, show an aging population). I once argued the point that it was rather meaningless to provide some "alternate" transportation solution when there aren't jobs at the end of that pipe (roadway, rail line etc.). My wife is from the Philippines. They're talking about eliminating their diesel jeepneys and such. That their current paradigm is a total environmental disaster is without question, but when people can barely afford transportation fares NOW how can they afford what can ONLY be higher fares/fees with new transportation bits? Keep in mind that all the supporting pieces, folks working on existing equipment, is likely going to be significantly eroded, which removes demand from the newer tech transportation- economies of scale [in the growth direction] will be further challenged. This is NOT a "build it and they will come" deal; the demand, though it could exist, does not appear to be able to support the supply.
As I believe in a finite planet it also goes that I believe that all resources are limited (even the sun will eventually die; though this will never likely be anything humans will need to worry about). Fossil fuels, for any meaningful extractive purposes, WILL reach their crescendo. With that in mind I absolutely DO wish that we would have something akin to a sustainable energy source; but, what "I" wish is subject to the realities of our world.
The mention of shifting energy carriers (energy paradigm) has occurred during times in which there were far fewer humans on the planet. Both coal and oil ramped up with world population between about 1.5 billion and 2 billion. Today we're at 7.5+ billion. If you look at the population growth curve you'll see that these energy sources absolutely were responsible for the incredible growth. Introduce another new energy source that supersedes oil and our population will, if history is any guide, shoot up more.
The difference that one needs to consider is that "electricity" is more of a transport mechanism that an energy source. Coal and oil are both energy transports and energy sources. The "convenience" cannot be overlooked.
Energy alone does little. The equation to "create" is: energy + materials + ideas = creation/end product. Land, minerals, water and air, all are currently massively stressed. While a better means of utilizing energy can and should occur it will still be limited to the available of the other parts of the creation/growth equation.
I once was extremely optimistic about hot fusion. Of anything, I believe, it has more potential than anything else. Over time I realized that, as noted in my previous paragraph, that there was more to the equation than just energy: though, as I knew, with hot fusion there is the possibility of precision reclamation/recycling, which would help address the issue of minerals (recovery), w/o providing, though, for the creation of MORE. NOTE: yes, "hot fusion" exists in the form of the sun
Lastly, and perhaps this is why hot fusion (or even cold, which I was always highly doubtful over, feeling that it was a horrible distraction from hot fusion) could never be available, is that the powers that be wouldn't be the "powers that be" if everyone had the power of fusion. How much truth exists here is hard to say other than human nature has lots of history behind it.
I can both believe that the above is what WILL be AND that I think EV stuff is cool. I am unwilling, however, to believe that EV is going to be any salvation (and I actually think that it mostly serves to distract from the disconcerting conditions that exist with our other pieces of the creation/growth equation).
