Not seen the movie, but such renewable sources of energy require investment, particularly in infrastructure and development. Even if we knew fossils fuels would run out in five years that would be a massively short time to manufacture, site and "plumb in" enough solar/wind/tide plants. Besides which, the Trumpaloompa doesn't believe in such energy and big biz can make higher profits mining and drilling so we'll just have to hope that we get more than five years notice. I suspect that even incontrovertible proof that resources were going to run out would be hidden in the name of profit. Best hope that the Muskrat and Lex Luthor don't crack space travel soon or the 1% will happily leave the planet to burn.

@M.LeMarchand said:

Not seen the movie, but such renewable sources of energy require investment, particularly in infrastructure and development. Even if we knew fossils fuels would run out in five years that would be a massively short time to manufacture, site and "plumb in" enough solar/wind/tide plants. Besides which, the Trumpaloompa doesn't believe in such energy and big biz can make higher profits mining and drilling so we'll just have to hope that we get more than five years notice. I suspect that even incontrovertible proof that resources were going to run out would be hidden in the name of profit. Best hope that the Muskrat and Lex Luthor don't crack space travel soon or the 1% will happily leave the planet to burn.

There's no shortage of online hellscapes to discuss Trump don't do it here. Thanks.

@M.LeMarchand said:

Not seen the movie, but such renewable sources of energy require investment, particularly in infrastructure and development.

You are missing the point.

It's quite possible to come up with scenarios for a disaster movie where an severe energy shortage is looming. Fossils exhausted, other tech not there yet, yet other we don't dare to use, atmosphere full of dust, and so on. There's a number of possible reasons a screenwriter could combine for a scenario in which, for years, the world might face a severe crisis.

Inaccessible resources, yes. But the "world's energy resources exhausted"? That's bordering on physically impossible. As long as the sun's fusion keeps running, the energy keeps coming - whether we use it/can use it, or not.

It's extremely sloppy writing I'm talking about, not politics.

@jw said:

It's quite possible to come up with scenarios for a disaster movie where an severe energy shortage is looming. Fossils exhausted, other tech not there yet, yet other we don't dare to use, atmosphere full of dust, and so on. There's a number of possible reasons a screenwriter could combine for a scenario in which, for years, the world might face a severe crisis.

That sounds like you agree with my hypothesis.

@jw said:

Inaccessible resources, yes. But the "world's energy resources exhausted"? That's bordering on physically impossible. As long as the sun's fusion keeps running, the energy keeps coming - whether we use it/can use it, or not.

Therein lies the crux. There are resources we could use, but it's not in the interests of those in charge to use them.

@M.LeMarchand said:

But the "world's energy resources exhausted"? That's bordering on physically impossible. As long as the sun's fusion keeps running, the energy keeps coming - whether we use it/can use it, or not.

Therein lies the crux. There are resources we could use, but it's not in the interests of those in charge to use them.

Exactly. Sure, the sun keeps cranking out power so all we gotta do is.... um... snap our fingers and suddenly every city, state and country will have the infrastructure, facilities and human resources to set up massive solar & wind farms? These same farms that our Orange government has been successfully burying?

The problem with most of the population is that they don't understand that just because we theoretically can do something, it doesn't mean it's anywhere close to reality. They were talking about electric cars in 1980. Five years nuthin, it's been nearly 45 years and we barely have the infrastructure for a handful of them now. And... NO APOLOGIES TO PEOPLE AFRAID OF "POLITICS" the reason why we can't implement sensible technology is entirely political.* Politicians determine what fuel resources we have, and the Wrinkly Orange and his cronies have declared that the future is coal.

*Are we forgetting that the entire genre of scifi was born out of political metaphor? From HG Wells to George Orwell to Ray Bradbury to Gene Roddenberry, the point of scifi was to warn us of what might happen if we don't get our leaders in shape.