Energy
Introduction
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Energy
Introduction
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After food and water, energy to cook or heat or move from place to place is the most basic human need. Whether we microwave a pizza or cook the evening meal on dried cow dung, energy impacts every aspect of our life. In fact, modern economies and cultures are often defined by the cycle of energy production and consumption.
In the past we’ve worried about how long supplies of energy will last; our consumption patterns have been driven by a fear that some day we’ll simply run out. Recently, we have become aware of the importance of sustainable use of a variety of energy sources from traditional fossil fuels to photovoltaic (solar) cells. And we know that our energy models are not sustainable because of environmental, economic, and geopolitical issues.
At the beginning of the 21st century, despite a slowly changing attitude concerning wise use, we are still reliant on traditional sources of energy and on unsustainable patterns of consumption. Hydrocarbon fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal) still provide nearly 80 percent of the world’s energy even though their carbon content leads directly to the development of greenhouse gases and global warming. More than two billion people in the developing world continue to use traditional biomass fuels like wood whose overuse has led to land degradation, deforestation, desertification, and air pollution.
At one point in our recent history, beginning in the 1960s, we turned to nuclear generation as the answer to all of our energy needs. Many countries in both developed and developing countries have built nuclear power plants, and must address the safe disposal of waste products of nuclear energy as well as potential threats to the humans and the natural environment from operational accidents.
Renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, hydro, and hydrogen power constitute a miniscule percentage of the total energy package, but they are receiving greater attention and emphasis as sustainability gains credence.
As with all the other major issues facing the world today, we have the means to reverse the non-sustainable trends outlined above and to provide non-polluting energy to the world’s people. Such a change however, would require an international effort, redesigning the world energy system with the following key goals:
1. Efficient use of existing energy, two
thirds of which is currently wasted. At the same time, a global program
of efficient use would also stress more equitable distribution;
2. A shift from hydrocarbons to renewable energy sources including wind,
solar, geothermal, and hydrogen;
3. Redesigning communities, businesses, homes, and modes of transportation
so that they use less–as well as different forms of–energy;
4. Transferring sustainable energy technologies directly to developing
nations, enabling them to “leapfrog” beyond the unsustainable
models currently used by the developed world;
5. Adoption of international treaties and binding agreements concerning
wise energy use.
There are many encouraging examples of steps being taken in the direction suggested above. In many countries of the world, the urgency of climate change and the impact of environmental degradation are spurring individuals and governments to action.