Session 8

Returning from recess week, we were introduced to a new topic on Energy and World Change. It was a rude shock to find out that our nation consumes so much energy such that if every country uses the same amount as we do, the world's oil reserves will be depleted within 9 years. This alarmingly fast pace that we are exhausting our scarce natural resources really draws our attention to the need for a change in our lifestyles and our practices to ensure sustainable living for the future. It is a warning to us that our diet of fossil fuel and other irreplaceable natural resources cannot be protracted into the long run and thus, it is timely to shape alternatives that enable mankind to divert their reliance on unsustainable resources to environmentally sound ones. The video that was showed to us in class, titled "Animation: Climate change, energy & action", brings out the essence of the action plan that we need to follow to create a world change towards a cleaner and greener future. My key takeaway message from this video is that new habits, new technologies and new ideas have to be developed to address pressing issues that are plaguing our contemporary society such as the problem of global warming due to excessive burning of fossil fuels to serve the growing demands of Man. Since Man is the root cause for the damage done to Earth, it is only right that we take the initiative to fix it. Hence, we have to be prepared to be at the forefront to lead and accept changes so as to deviate from old trajectories and retool for a new economy. 

This brings us to the drivers of global energy change. A driver can be defined as a catalyst and some of these identified drivers include the rising energy consumption of countries. For example, although China currently consumes one quarter the amount of oil compared to the US, it is predicted that China will soon face a phenomenon of rising energy consumption where its oil consumption will climb steadily and eventually exceed that of the US, totalling up to four times that of US oil consumption. This projection reflects a huge jump in the levels of energy consumption in the future and reminds us of the urgency to source for ways to reduce the harm inflicted on the environment. Some countries have succeeded in doing so. Brazil is a prominent example of how countries can learn to better manage their use of natural resources by tapping on innovative and sustainable methods to direct a shift from dependency on fossil fuel based resources. Brazil is seen as the leader of green technology with its move to harness biofuels as a solution to address the country's lack of petroleum resources. Turning to agriculture as a more sustainable alternative, Brazil grew sugar cane that was capable of producing alcohol. As a result, Brazil successfully reequipped vehicles to function on alcohol. New technologies have been introduced to increase the efficiency of energy utilisation and prevent the unnecessary wastage of energy,  electric lights are banned in Europe to be replaced by incandescent lamps that produces the same lumens of light with lower energy consumption and can last longer. Such energy conservation technologies are also examples of drivers of global energy change. However, the effectiveness of these drivers in creating an actual impact on Man's energy consumption patterns are still dependent on other factors such as price and cost, which is a major determinant in influencing human behaviour. Since fossil fuels are cheaper than renewables, mankind might be unwilling to change to more renewable energy sources due to the insufficient realisation that the cheaper price tag attached to fossil fuels is in fact an unsustainable and underestimated one since the price does not reflect the negative externalities involved that can amount to a very expensive cost should it be taken into account. Moreover, opportunity cost associated with the burning of fossil fuels for the generation of energy when fossil fuels can be better made use in other areas. 

From previous sessions, we learnt that food security ensures that even in times of famine, there is still sufficient food to feed everyone. Similarly, there should be energy security, where we must be equipped with sufficient energy resources with different countries around the globe depending on different sources of energy (fossil fuels; renewables: hydro, solar; biomass) so that we would not have to face with the problem of excessive consumption of a certain source of energy that can lead to the shortage of it in meeting the demands and needs of man. In the early ages, biomass in the form of coal and firewood is commonly used before the discovery of petroleum and recent trends have noted the shift back to the employment of biomass as an alternative energy source to the burning of fossil fuels as mankind start to realise the need to search for renewable energy sources. For less developed countries, biomass is the primary source of of energy for them, where crop residue and animal excrement are used. Energy security is a key consideration in this topic on Energy and World Change and should be taken seriously to ensure the sustainability of our energy resources especially as we are living in a technologically-advanced world that requires large amounts of energy to power the various modern devices and technologies harnessed in the various industries. Notably, global energy consumption has increased with the growing population, rising affluence, transportation and improvements made in science and technology that has led to the development of new innovations. This is reflected in the increase in the consumption of oil, nuclear energy, and coal recorded in the 2010 statistical review of world energy. While each region has different energy utilisation patterns, oil remains the world's dominant fuel and taking into consideration the increased global energy consumption, it is likely that the world's supply of fossil fuels will be used up in the near future when these non-renewable resources are constantly harnessed to produce the oil that we require. A quick food for thought here would be whether man can cope with the loss of their principal source of fuel in the event that we do not shift our reliance to alternative energy sources in time before the global supply of fossil fuel runs out? 

Another key consideration of energy and world change highlighted is the use of energy as a source of national income. For instance, 90% of Nigeria's economy is dependent on petroleum and so is the Middle East (e.g. Qatar, Omar) but in light of the depleting fossil fuel resources, these countries have also realised that the supply of petroleum cannot last forever and to prevent the country from losing their primary source of income that can lead to severe economic downturn for the country and the integrated global economy, these oil-rich countries are seeking to diversify their economies by going through massive industrialisation processes to escape from potential oil trap. Nevertheless, there are countries such as Nigeria who remain adamant about the situation and continue to solely exploit their oil resources in order to generate massive and quick profits. The key takeaway message here is that countries should not adopt a myopic view towards the issue of energy consumption and seek instant gratification without considering long-term perspectives such as the impact of their prolonged and extensive use of fossil fuels on the availability of resources in the future and also on the environment especially as the burning of fossil fuels can lead to the emission of huge amounts of carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming. It is apt to recognise that with globalisation, the selfish actions of a country is likely to affect the world as a whole. Thus, every country has a part to play in driving global energy change to ensure sustainability for everyone. 

In drawing comparisons between biomass, wind and photovoltaics, biomass is perceived to have the lowest utility and thus, researchers should look into wind (capable of capturing 50 Gwh of energy, 25 times more than that of biomass) and photovoltaics (generates 170 Gwh) as solutions to global energy change. However, initiatives to move in this direction are still lacking, which can cripple our progress in searching for better alternatives if we continue to harness ineffective strategies. As a result, what the world needs are leaders who are willing to invest in the future and propel a change in the right direction. Surprisingly, the country that is contributing the most to clean energy investment is not USA but China instead, which indicates their realisation that they can no longer depend on coal and are thus investing in new and clean technology. This is a positive sign that reflects countries' acknowledgement of the need to drive a global energy change and also their willingness to change status quo and pursue better alternatives. Similarly, the United Kingdom and Germany are also becoming aware of the direction that the future is going to head and are acting on it. 

The saying by our professor that "technology is easy but people are hard" provides an insight into the current situation, where it is indeed difficult to get people to change their habits. Moreover, external instruments such as economic policies (subsidies) to encourage people to adopt the strategy are required to implement the change. Similarly, other factors also need to be taken into account like the availability of more renewables in order for a constructive change to be carried out. Indeed, the process is a challenging one but it will be worthwhile considering the impact on sustainability, environment etc. Nevertheless, it is important to incentivise people to move towards cleaner and greener options. For example, while India did innovate in the right direction and produced its first electric car, REVA, it is an expensive technology that most are unwilling to invest in especially when the use of petroleum fueled cars are cheaper. Thus, it is essential that people are given the motivation to adopt these cleaner and greener alternatives to harvest global effort in driving global energy change.

Overall, I would rate this lesson a 9/10. It was a very motivational and informative session, glad to be back in class!

Cheers,
Glenda