Technology after the age of stupid

[Dangerious P. Cats]

Given that a likly direction for technology is to deal with loss of resources like oil and coal how would one model future TLs where rather than technology making things faster, stronger or more possible, it makes things be able to do the same power but with less energy or using alterantive resources?

[nick012000]

Open Ultra-Tech. Flip to the Power section of the Core Technologies chapter. Begin reading.

[Dangerious P. Cats]

Originally Posted by nick012000

Open Ultra-Tech. Flip to the Power section of the Core Technologies chapter. Begin reading.

The assumuption of all the power sources in ultra tech is that the move away from fosil fuels is motivated by some magical new powersource becoming availble that is better than fosil fuels. The core assumption of what I'm talkking about is that the motivation for moving away from fosil fuels is their depleation.

[warmachine]

Slower progression of TL, fission power, renewables and biofuels instead of fusion and people are generally poorer.

[Ulzgoroth]

The technologies are basically the same. UT doesn't go into much depth on trying to eke the very most effect out of whatever pitiful energy supplies you have...but really, that's not all that useful. You can't save all that much. If you're running out, you can either get something else (do this!) or eliminate usage (welcome back to the dark ages!). Extra-efficient technologies can save you real money, but they're not going to keep you from hitting bottom on a finite supply. Especially considering that current chemical-power systems are pretty efficient.

For a poverty-future where nobody's quite figured out an alternative to chemical energy as the underlying fuel, look into things like HT on making ethanol. Biomass gassification might also be of interest, but I don't think that has a GURPS writeup. Biotech talks in the abstract about fuel-synthesizing bacteria.

The ultratech (or modern, for that matter) answer to 'we have no energy!' is 'um, yes we do...' See nuclear and (given a strong space program and beamed power methods) space-based solar for highly effective, wind and ground-based solar for somewhat effective.

If the problem is specifically 'we have no gasoline', or 'we have no portable energy' note that you can manufacture hydrocarbons given energy. It's probably not going to be cheap, and small ones like methane are the cheapest, but if you really need combustible fuels you can make them de novo. Ultratech's vehicles, unfortunately, don't tend to say anything about how they're fueled...

[jacobmuller]

hydrogen + oxygen = water plus energy.
Solar powered crackers = comparatively slow production of hydrogen and oxygen from water.
Closed cycle "rechargeable" chemical fuel cells. Not as potent an energy source as nuclear/ antimatter/ fusion but doable even now.
Also, plants for alcohol, biodiesel, etc.
Spaceships gives comparative energy output for power plants (I know it ain't perfect but it's there)

So, if a future radiation hating nanny state allows water/solar still/ battery systems only, we'd have less easily accessible power but less polution. I don't know if it would work out as less total power or simply make everything slightly more expensive.

Anyone read any good SF out there that's worked on this premise?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by Dangerious P. Cats

The assumuption of all the power sources in ultra tech is that the move away from fosil fuels is motivated by some magical new powersource becoming availble that is better than fosil fuels. The core assumption of what I'm talkking about is that the motivation for moving away from fosil fuels is their depleation.

Then I think the only difference is energy is a little more expensive. The relative prices of stuff may change a little (though energy costs are not usually a major factor in prices, so this is probably negligible) and the average wealth of society as a whole will be lower (set starting wealth lower than normal for that TL).

If you are looking for stuff like what do we not bother with when energy is cheap, or vice versa. Expensive energy probably most seriously impacts transportation - you don't move anything you don't have to and no faster than necessary, for adventurers this probably doesn't mean much other than higher costs, and maybe that their mail orders take longer and they sometimes have to wait an inconveniently long time for regularly scheduled passage to where they want to go

Shifts in the economics of available consumer goods - more energy efficient (or more durable) stuff becomes somewhat more attractive even though it has higher initial costs - happen in the background, but are probably pretty invisible except at the level of that lower wealth level/standard of living.

As a society, higher energy costs can make the *average* look different by influencing lots of smaller decisions. Traffic is lighter, vehicles are smaller, the size and insulation of buildings probably changes - think small apartments and shop blocks instead of spralling single story mansions and malls. Sweaters make a comeback offices with windows are more prestigious again, more streets are built with sidewalks and bike lanes, and you could see some reversal of suburban sprawl, particularly the movement of industries back toward the water or rail trasportation hubs, perhaps with corresponding decrease in urban core air quality, and retiring to the sunbelt or somewhere in the wilderness looks a lot less attractive.