Chapter 13

The Second Great Transition

  • The Natural Resource Directory
    In the last 200 years, the earth's fossil fuels have been exploited as a source of energy. Fossil fuels are non-renewable, so their depletion represents a huge threat.
    We primarily use energy for lighting and heating and for power and mobility. Sometimes the energy used to obtain fossil fuels can be quite high. For example, it takes a lot of energy to build an offshore oil rig.
    Before electricity, energy was difficult to transport. Wood and coal were hard to move. Water and wind power were often restricted to certain areas. With electricity, however, energy is available wherever it is needed. The ease of acquiring energy and its widespread use make fossil fuels at even greater risk of being depleted.
    Prior to fossil fuels, renewable sources of energy were used. Since manpower represented the greatest source, there were limitations as to how much energy could be expended. For example, it took one million workers to build the Great Wall of China. Half of these people died working.
    In addition to serfdom and slave labor, animals provided much horsepower. Oxen and horses consume a great deal of food, so their use was limited. To put things in perspective, horses moved 88% of London's goods until 1913.
    While humans, animals, water, and wind provided power, wood provided fuel. When people cut through the forests and exhausted the sources of wood and charcoal, they turned to coal. With the use of coal, the first non-renewable source of energy, came the Industrial Revolution. So much coal has been used, that there are not nearly enough forests in the world to equal its output of energy.
    The main source of energy in twentieth century industrialised countries is oil. Much is used to produce a secondary form of energy, electricity. A by-product of oil, natural gas, is also being exploited. Inefficient car engines, poorly insulated homes, and other energy consumers are wasting are non-renewable sources constantly.
    It will come as no surprise that the biggest consumer of energy is the United States. While we make up only 5% of the world's population, we use 30% of the world's energy. Economic inequities and poor quality of life in Third World countries can be directly related to the unfair distribution of energy sources.
    While dangerous nuclear power, and safer solar, wind, and water powers may be options in the future, we still rely on non-renewable sources as our primary form of energy today. Due to the severe waste, it is estimated that the world will run out of coal in a few hundred years, and out of oil and natural gas by the end of the next century.
    SOME SOLUTIONS
  • Netherlands Energy Resource Foundation
  • Energy in Hawaii
  • Energy Efficient Environments