Energy: Present and Future - Essay Example

Energy: Present and Future The present situation of the energy use of the world connects directly with the use and need for oil as a resource. Oil itself is under pressure from both an increase in demand and a decrease in supply which is expected to come not too far off in the future. While we may seem to have enough oil for our needs and for our needs a few years in the future, it is unlikely that oil will continue to act as the driving force and the blood of the economy. With regard to that idea, several different thinkers have presented their viewpoints about the future of energy on the planet and they bring some interesting ideas to the table. For example, Ayres (2001) focuses on making our present use of energy more efficient since there is technology available that can make more efficient use of our present oil and other energy resources. Instead of looking for new sources of energy or investing in our present sources, in the future envisioned by him, our energy use would become so efficient that economic growth would not be stalled until we have developed sustainable alternative fuels. The issue of development is directly connected with the search for alternative energy since the developing countries of the world depend on the availability of energy that can help them drive their economies. In any given city or country, whenever automobiles are driven, industries operated or to energy is generated to provide electric power to homes and offices, a significant amount of fossil fuels are used (Green, 2005). Of course a certain level of demand for such fuels had been met in the past since there was an abundance of resources but in the future, that demand may not be met if we continue to use fossil fuels in the same inefficient way that we have used them in the past. Ayres (2001) takes a view which focuses on governmental policies with regard to our current use of energy and how governments can mandate laws and regulations which make efficient energy a reality. This would allow significant cuts in the consumption of energy which would not only push back the peak but it would also allow the prices of oil to come down with a reduction in demand. The estimates made by him suggest that the demand for oil could be reduced by as much as half if the appropriate policies are implemented. The idea of pushing back the peak of oil production is discussed at length by Campbell and Laherrere (1998) who come to the conclusion that cheap and plentiful oil is no longer a given. They also report that the discovery of new oil production fields is dwindling and it is unlikely that oil can continue to be used by us as a means for providing cheap energy. In fact, as early as 1991, Davis had reported that oil would become more expensive as demand outstripped supply and thus alternative sources of energy would have to be found. The concept of peak production for oil and other fossil fuels certainly applies even if the peak comes later than when we expect it to come (Davis, 1991). This idea is supported by Hubbert’s peak theory which assumes that the overall reserves of oil in the world will not be added to in any significant way or may not be added at all to begin with. Since animal fossils turn into useable oil over millions of years in geological time, we cannot hope that the oil reserves will increase before we use it all up (Deffeyes, 2001). Luckily, alternative energy sources can move us away from the energy sources which we had used for the production of electricity in the last century. For example, even though an economic case for the generation of electric energy through nuclear plants can be made (since it is cheaper to produce electricity through nuclear power plants than oil or gas power plants), it seems that the benefits of the production of electricity through nuclear power are not offset by the disadvantages (Weeks, 2006). Weeks (2006) wrote an article which strongly suggests that even though nuclear power can be used by some nations of the world, the future of power generation for the whole world should be connected with renewable energy resources such as wind power farms and solar energy farming. However, at the present moment both of these methods of collecting energy and creating useable energy are in their infancy and less than one percent of the total global energy is created through these means. Of course this does not mean that they should be ignored but rather that they should be developed quickly with government funding and investments going towards alternative energy resources. It must be noted that there was a time when global nuclear energy production levels stood at less than one percent yet the plants gained acceptance with time (Weeks, 2006). However, as nuclear energy plants have high security concerns, particular when it comes to terrorist threats, solar or wind energy might be easier to guard with less of a risk in terms of fallout creating a disaster like Chernobyl. At the same time, the key problem with wind and solar energy production is location since the plants cannot be efficiently placed anywhere in the world. The energy conversion that takes place at such farms may be dependent on seasonal and weather changes which can affect the reliability of the output gained from the energy supply. In this manner, there are issues which remained to be solved with solar and wind energy which can only be handled if the brightest minds at our disposal are asked to work on the problem. In conclusion, from what we can tell with the present data at hand, at some point in the near future, oil, coal and gas will all eventually be finished. On the other hand, continued use of nuclear energy will cause radioactive pollution and create radioactive waste material along with its own security concerns. In effect, human beings are left with few options if any at all, unless renewable energy sources are used for our energy requirements. In such a situation, the only thing which becomes clear is that we have to move away from conventional means of producing energy and seek out new sources. Works Cited Ayres, R. 2001, ‘The Energy We Overlook’, Worldwatch, November/December. Campbell, C. and Laherrere, J. 1998, ‘The End of Cheap Oil’, Scientific American, March. Davis, G. 1991 ‘Energy for Planet Earth’, Energy for Planet Earth: Readings from Scientific American, 1991. Deffeyes, K. 2001, Hubberts Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage, Princeton University Press. Green, J. 2005, Reducing Air Pollution, Gareth Stevens Publishing. Weeks, J. 2006, Should the U.S. build more nuclear power plants? UCI.edu, [Online] Available at: http://eee.uci.edu/06f/50690/nuc2006.htm Word Count: 1,147 Read More