Investing in Energy assignment 03 - Essay Example

I was born at a time where technology had started to seep in almost every aspect of life. I come from a typical middle family; the only child to my father and mother. Technology didn’t come into my household, nor into Saudi Arabia as fast as it did around the rest of the world. However, by the time I opened my eyes to the world Saudi Arabia too was welcoming all kinds of gadgets that made life easier to live. My family was a small one with my father acting as the main breadwinner and my mother playing out her role as the typical housewife.

In a way I am an extension of my family’s ideals. My father built a stable life for us as best he could but things changed. I am now studying Finance with the help of my country’s support and trying to build a new kind of life where I am exposed to an entirely new set of ideals and beliefs every day. Where my family has been conservative and traditional, I believe that my generation is slightly more liberal minded and tries to think outside the box. I was born after great revolutions had already come and gone around the world.

Growing up I saw the international media twist and turn; presidents were called to account for their offenses, countries were asked to shut down their nuclear programs, ties were strengthened with America and then protests broke out over those ties in the later years. I believe that the linear forces in my life i.e. the life style my parents tried to secure for me, my social status within society, education etc. helped me find my path. I could always see money turning the world around which was what first attracted me to the field of finance.

In terms of non-linear forces, I changed with the ever-changing world around me. I was introduced to new pop culture icons, politics and events taking place both within my country and globally. My peers brought about significant influences into my life. I always felt as though the parts of life that I was missing out on were introduced to me all over again by my friends, family and associates. Traveling further changed my life as I opened my eyes to a world previously unexplored. Before I stepped out of my country I only knew of one way that things were done, I soon after realized how vast the world is and how many different solutions exist to a simple problem.

What was taboo in my culture was welcomed in another, what was welcomed in my culture seemed alien somewhere else. I believe that for the longest time I had no real value for energy in my life. We all hear about oil running around, energy resources being exhausted, the world coming to an end so to speak; however, none of these things really affect anyone because they are so removed from the situation – it was the same for me. I knew not to waste water and turn my taps off and leave the lights in the living room off while I wasn’t home but beyond that it made no real sense to me.

Where I come from, air-conditioning is constant in households, offices, supermarkets and pretty much anywhere else one can go. I believed that was the normal way of doing things; I now realize that most countries do not have constant air-conditioning. Today hybrid cars have made a place in the real world; 10 years ago they were but an odd idea for most people. The first time global warming or an energy crisis actually caught my attention was during the time Al Gore introduced his book and rallied against the heavy mindset that there was no real problem.

While it had been scientists and technical people who had talked about the subject before, I hadn’t been able to muster up enough interest, but Al Gore’s work took me by surprise and that was the first time I realized that there was a real problem.