Inglês
Interpretação de texto | Reading comprehensionFUVEST · 2025FácilEntre para guardar nos favoritos
Our planet is home to
subterranean lava deposits and
smatterings of obsidian—black
volcanic glass. Scalding
groundwater bubbles to the
surface in places. In such a
landscape, you remember that
the planet’s hard exterior is so
thin that we call it a crust. Its superheated interior burns with
an estimated forty-four trillion watts of power. Heat mined from
underground is called geothermal and can be used to produce
steam, spin a turbine, and generate electricity. Until recently,
humans have tended to harvest small quantities in the rare
places where it surfaces, such as hot springs. The biggest
drawback is drilling miles through hot rock, safely. If scientists
can do that, next-generation geothermal power could supply
clean energy for eons. Right now, geothermal energy meets a
puny portion of humanity’s electricity and heating needs. Fossil
fuels power about eighty per cent of human activity, pumping
out carbon dioxide and short-circuiting our climate to
catastrophic effect. Converts argue that geothermal checks
three key boxes: it is carbon-free, available everywhere, and
effectively unlimited. It is also baseload, which means that,
unlike solar panels or wind, it provides a steady flow of energy.
“Over the last two years, I have watched this exponential spinup of activity in geothermal,” a drilling expert said. But there is
a risk of moon shots: often, they miss. “There’s basically zero
chance that you’re going to develop a moon-shot technology
and have it be commercial in five years, on a large-scale”, said
Mark Jacobson, an engineering professor. That’s how long
humanity has to lower emissions before climatic devastation.
“There’s a very decent chance you can do that with wind and
solar,” he said. Perhaps, when resources and time are finite,
trying and failing could be worse than not trying at all.
New Yorker. March 2025. Adaptado.
De acordo com o texto, atualmente a exploração do calor
gerado nas regiões subterrâneas do planeta
