If energy is not the issue anymore, materials become the bottleneck. Earth is large, but finite.
Mining becomes an even worse issue than oil (harder to find and extract; even more critical for empires to control).
Maybe recycling metals efficiently may soften the problem, but not for long, as replacing oil-based systems with electric ones will incur a massive extraction/refinement effort at a scale we collectively haven't reached yet.
Space discovery/mining/transport may be the only option from this perspective. But it has its own set of drawbacks too.
More energy available "should" mean more automation, less concentration of power (political or business), clean water, food, and given the fruits are redistributed evenly, more peace. But raw materials are also part of the equation.
Comments
If energy is not the issue anymore, materials become the bottleneck. Earth is large, but finite.
Mining becomes an even worse issue than oil (harder to find and extract; even more critical for empires to control).
Maybe recycling metals efficiently may soften the problem, but not for long, as replacing oil-based systems with electric ones will incur a massive extraction/refinement effort at a scale we collectively haven't reached yet.
Space discovery/mining/transport may be the only option from this perspective. But it has its own set of drawbacks too.
More energy available "should" mean more automation, less concentration of power (political or business), clean water, food, and given the fruits are redistributed evenly, more peace. But raw materials are also part of the equation.