ShaunLawton

April14,2016
ENG1022PM
Prof.Deadrick
WorldEnergySitch

TheGlobalEnergyCrisisorasitwillbefurtherknowntheGEChasbecome
moreofapoliticalbuzzword,ratherthananeverloomingthreat.Whenresearching
thisverybroadsubject,itisbesttothinkasthoughoneisansweringaquestionforthe
purposesofthisresearchtherewillbethreemainquestions.Willwerunoutofenergy,
howsecureisouraccesstoenergy,andhowdoesclimatechangeaffecttheenergywe
use?Thesequestionsandthevariousarguments,answers,andoppositiontothose
answersarewhatmakeupwhatisknownformallyastheGEC.Someoftheconflicts
facingthisissuearegovernmentlegislationnotyetbeingabletoconfirmwhatscientist
haveasfarasclimatechangeisconcerned.Anotheroppositionisfromthe
corporationswhohaveafinancialstakeinnotreducingtheamountofnonrenewable
energyweconsumeandthefinancialpowertoaffectlegislatorstosupportthem.There
aresomesolutionscurrentlyposedwhichwillbeoutlinedincleardetailwhileexamining
ourthreemainquestions.
Willwerunoutofenergy?Theshortanswerisstillnotadefinitiveyesorno.To
explorethismoreclearlyIuseinformationintwoarticlesbyscientistandwellrespected
expertsintheclimatechangeresearchcommunity,NicholasSternandJohnBrowne.I
choseProf.SternbecauseheisthepresidentoftheBritishAcademyofScience.The
proposedquestionisnoteasytoanswerduetothefactthat80%ofourcurrentenergy

needs(Browne,2009)arefulfilledwithfossilfuelswhichcannotberenewedandwill
eventuallyrunout,butwehaveothersourcesofenergythatarerenewablethatarefar
lesswidelyusedsuchaswindpower,solarenergypowerandhydroelectric
respectively.Eventhoughpoorruralcommunitiesarediscoveringthattheycanaccess
electriclightingthroughlocallygeneratedsolarenergy,(Stern,2015)legislatorshave
beenslowtoallocatefundstowardsfurtherresearchintolargescaleimplementation.
ThisfacetoftheGECisdifficulttogiveaclearhypothesisedsolutionforasthereis
alreadyarenewablesourceofenergyavailableitismorethatallthecurrent
infrastructureandeconomyistiedupwithnonrenewablesources.Thoughitispossible
torunoutofenergythatisnotthemainfocusofmanyscientistconcernswhenthinking
oftheGEC,itisclimatechange.ThisinformationisnewtomesomewhatasIwas
awarewherethemajorityofourenergycamefrombutthroughresearchIlearnedthat
newtechnologiesareallowingustostilldiscovernewplaceswithfossilfuelswewere
unabletoaccessbefore.
Howdoesclimatechangeaffecttheenergyweuse?OnceagainIuseresearch
frombothProf.SternandformerBPoilexecutiveJohnBrownebutIalsolookatthe
EPAslookintotheenergycrisisandhowitrelatestoclimatechange.TheEmissionof
carbondioxideintotheEarthsatmosphere(EPA,1974)iscausedprimarilybyburning
fossilfuelsforenergyand,isthecurrentlybelievedreasonforrisingglobal
temperatures.Thismakesthemaincruxofthiscrisisnotwhetherwewillrunoutoffuel
butratherweareusingfuelthewrongwaywhichwillmorethanlikelycauseamassive
ecologicalbreakdownonthisplanetlongbeforefossilfuelshaverunout.

Governmentsarebeginningtorecognizethetruecostofthedirtyuseoffossilfuels,
withmillionsofpeopleacrosstheworld,includingabout29,000intheUK,dying
prematurelyeachyearfromtheeffectsofairpollution,mostofwhichisgeneratedfrom
burninghydrocarbons.(Stern,2015)Asolutiontothiswouldbetoresearch,develop,
anddeployabroadrangeofenergysources.Thoughtherearemanyalternate
sourcesofenergyavailablesuchas,wind,solar,biomass,andliquidbiofuelsbutsince
coalissocrucialofapowersourceforthebiggestenergyusersRussia,USA,and
ChinaitwillbenecessarytoresearchCarbonCaptureStoragewhichallowsforthe
continueduseoffossilfuelsinthefutureenergymix(Browne,2009).Withthe
populationofcitiesbeingthebiggestconsumersofenergyandUrbanpopulationswill
risefromabout3.5bnpeoplenowtoaround6.5bnin2050.(Stern,2015)Thecurrent
trendswillhavetochangeinordertoavoidaecologicalcrisisduetoglobaltemperature
rising.Itwasinterestingtolearnthatthoughwehavealternateformsofenergy
availablemanyofourdemandsaretoohighinordertofullycommittoalternativeforms
insomeareas.Thoughatthesametimerenewableenergycouldalsobeawayforthe
1.3bnpeopleworldwidethatdonothaveenergytobeabletohaveaccesstoit.
Howsecureisouraccesstoenergy?Today,oilandgasreservesareinthe
handsofasmallgroupofnations,(Browne,2009)mostofitcomingfromRussia,Iran,
Africa,andthePersianGulf.Thoughthelargeconsumernationstrytofindwaysof
becominglessdependantonforeignoilitisdifficultwithcorporationshavingalarge
financialstakeinthesuccessofoilandotherfossilfuels.Theresearchshowedthe
solutiontothisproblemcanbesolvedinthesamewayasclimatechange,andthatis

movingfartherawayfromfossilfuels.Withallthemainsourcesoffossilfuelsbeing
countriesthatareunderdevelopedorontenuouspoliticalrelationshipwithoutside
nations,itmakesresearchanddevelopmentofalternativerenewablefuelsourcesall
themorecrucial.
TheGlobalEnergyCrisisismorethansimplyaproblemfor40+yearsinthe
futureitissomethingwehavetodealwithrightnowduetoitsdirectrelationshipto
climatechange.Thisisahugeissuesoitinvolves,bothgovernmentsandthepeople
theyaregoverningaspolicyandfundallocationcouldhelppushresearchtohelp
implementmeasurestocutemissionproduction.Theaveragecitizencanalsohelpby
conservingenergyandlookingintoalternateenergysourcesfortheirlocalcommunity.
ThoughbeforeresearchingthistopicIknewtherewasarelationbetweenclimate
changeandGECIwasunawareofhowmanydifferentalternateenergysourcesthere
wereavailable.Itisalsosurprisingtofindthatcoalissowidelyusedtogenerate
electricityinUSA,China,andIndia.Itwilltakethepeopleandlegislatorsworking
togetherinordertocutouruseandrelianceonfossilfuelsbecausetherealcrisisisnot
intheenergybutontheimproperuseofenergyslongtermeffectonourecological
system.

WorksCited

Stern,Nicholas."HowDoWeSolvetheWorld'sEnergyCrisis?"
ProspectMagazine
.24
Aug.2015.Web.12Apr.2016.

Browne,John."TheEnergyCrisisandClimateChange."
GlobalEconomicSymposium
.
2009.Web.12Apr.2016.

www.EPA.gov