Energy: Past, Present and Future

The crux of this week’s topic is energy consumption. It never fails to surprise me that the magnitude at which I see people in Singapore or the States or any city consume in such magnitude and the world still seem to be operating continuously. I could be referring to food resources or electricity used daily. This goes to show just how much the Earth has in store for man’s disposal. However, this may not go on for long. Yet, some credit must be given to humans who have and are still stretching, unscrupulously rummaging for the remnants of sources of energy. Wind and solar energy which were available alternatives decades ago are becoming major components in contributing to future energy sources.

Wind energy has its limitations where it could be only harvested with the presence of wind. However, one question which stumps me and even Prof Shahi is why solar energy is under-cultivated. Is potential energy is triple times all the other sources of energy combined together. Yet, we do not see a widespread usage of this source. Harnessing this energy could supply us with unlimited energy that could sustain, maybe forever till the sun perishes. There has been a visible push to capture solar energy. However, from http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/19/markets/global_energy_use/index.htm, it can be seen that the projected world energy mix, contains only 14% of renewables. This is mainly due to the expenses that the country incurs investing in this type of energy. Every technology, when first introduced into the market is costly due to lack of competitors. However, organizations are still not ready to invest in this technology and thus costs will still be high and this vicious cycle may not be broken at least in the coming few decades.

Also the global energy consumption is expected to rise by 53% largely driven by demand from India and China. China currently uses 25% in a global scale. Energy is also a source of income and how energy is harvested and is used in each country is influenced by the clout of politics. The more hardworking government would pass in laws that may implement greener technologies. However, some are plain corrupt where people from the grass roots level work to produce energy for the state do not even get their income. Suresh has kindly put up a very intriguing article on Nigeria and its impoverishment due its corruption.

The presentations were intriguing; especially Avijit’s topic on the consequence is governments are not cautious with their usage of their energy which evokes a sense of foreboding. Suresh also spoke of reserve power plants which will not add to the energy consumption but will be used in case of emergency. Maybe this stored energy could be the answer to future consumption in place of others perishable resources.

For an insightful class, I would date this 9/10.