BY Puvaneswari Ramasamy

Imagine life without energy. Consider this: One morning you wake up feeling groggy. After a few stretches, you stumble out of bed, walk towards the coffee maker to brew a hot cuppa and find out – to your chagrin – that the machine refuses to start. When you reach for a glass of milk from the refrigerator, you realize that the internal light does not turn on and everything inside reek of staleness. Feeling frustrated, you now move to the stove to boil water and guess what? When you turn on the controller, there is no flame!

Unconsciously, you start dialling your telephone and as you place the receiver near your ear, you are shocked by the machine’s total silence. In panic, you run out
of your house, head to your car while still
in your pyjamas. Your most precious car also doesn’t start. Why doesn’t anything work? It may sound like a science-fiction movie, but this could be real indeed in years to come!

Look at our Planet’s historical use of energy. It is estimated that the Earth’s total endowment of crude oil -- before humans began to capitalise on it -- was two trillion barrels of recoverable fuel. Prior to the Industrial Revolution in the 1890s, human energy needs were miniscule. Humans discovered fire for cooking – and as a form of protection – around 1 million years ago. The Polynesians, around 1200 BC, were the first to use wind energy to navigate their boats. Sailing made its advent then!

The Chinese discovered new uses for coal around 1000 BC and henceforth it became a staple fuel source. From the Industrial Revolution-era onwards, the need for energy in the form of oil resulted in the rapid
production and consumption of fossil fuels. Along with the growing world population and urbanisation, the demand for energy is expected to increase rapidly. Present demand for oil is 1.7million barrels per day (2010 Short term energy and Winter Outlook EIA). But oil, like any other natural resource, is finite. Global energy shocks in the 1970s, 1990s and late 2000s caused the peaking of oil production in major industrial nations as a result of embargoes by oil producing nations. In hindsight, these crises should have given us a greater appreciation of our precious and finite energy resources. These energy crises had impacted our economy and induced recessions in many countries. In addition to this, rising costs of electricity generation resulted in higher manufacturing prices. As for the consumer, rising prices of gasoline (petrol) and diesel led to reduced consumer
purchasing power and confidence, higher transportation costs and general increase in the cost of living.

To compound matters further, no major oil discoveries have been made in the past 30 years. We have consumed almost half of our global crude oil reserves within the last 100 years. If such uncontrolled extraction and consumption persists, the scenario depicted earlier in this article may become a reality one day in the future.

Energy services have a profound effect on health, productivity, mobility, education, safe water and communication services. Therefore it is no surprise that access to energy has a strong correlation to social and economic development indices such as life expectancy at birth, infant mortality, maternal mortality and GDP per capita.

So how do we create a desirable future for the energy sector -- and the existence of mankind? It is very interesting to note how electricity usage is so deeply ingrained in our daily lives. It is clear that our efforts should focus on energy resources that are abundant and clean for national development.

In this context, diversification of energy resources has to be promoted to reduce our overwhelming dependency on fossil fuels. An increasing number of nations are embarking on renewable energy projects, which, are expected to contribute significantly to a sustainable energy mix. Royal Dutch Shell predicts that 50% of global energy needs will be met by renewable sources by 2040.

Based on the Renewable 2010, Global Status Report, approximately 19 per cent of the world’s energy supply will come from
renewable energy resources, especially biomass (13 per cent) and hydropower (3.2 per cent) in the near future. Recent developments in the solar and wind industries signify further breakthroughs from the renewable energy sector. The price of wind power is competitive to that of conventional electricity, while solar power is expected to get there around 2015. A Virginia man recently installed a windmill at his home, and we may soon be roofing with solar cells.

It is said that an hour of sunlight that reaches the earth could be harnessed for global energy needs for an entire year! From the viewpoint of clean energy, nuclear power is in the limelight again as it can generate electricity with little or no CO2 emission. Equipped with better safety measures, many countries are moving ahead with the modernization and expansion of their nuclear power industries.

According to an IEA forecast, some 300 nuclear power plants will be constructed by 2030. Nuclear power plants can produce electricity on a continual basis, 24 hours a day, seven days a week regardless of climate vagaries. A renaissance of nuclear power is expected throughout the next few decades until renewable energy is fully developed and sufficiently efficient to replace fossil fuels.

Other energy sources, gaining in prominence, are hydrogen, fuel cells, algae, wave, ocean thermal and artificial photosynthesis.

NASA has been using liquid hydrogen since 1970s to power its space shuttle’s electrical systems. It is expected that hydrogen could be used to fuel vehicles and aircrafts. In the not too distant future, hydrogen, along with electricity, may store, move and deliver energy in an efficient manner to users.

Through artificial photosynthesis, energy from sunlight can be converted to chemical
energy. This produces a clean, efficient and
sustainable source of energy. Researchers at the Berkeley Lab (University of California) have discovered that when chlorophyll molecules absorb more solar energy than is needed, molecules of zeaxanthin (within the plant) carry away excess energy.

By emulating nature’s techniques and creating artificial versions of photosynthesis, the potential to tap energy from the sun are much brighter. Although technological breakthroughs are fundamental to the development of new energy resources, we have to recognise that technology alone will not be sufficient to fill all dimensions of an energy system. Energy efficiency, policy and regulation and awareness form key instruments in shaping energy’s future.

Sustainability policies must be part of a coherent policy framework. Without these, imagine the future we are creating for our children...Never take energy for granted!

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