Environmental Concerns

Besides dwindling resources, we also have environmental issues. Concerns relating to burning fossil fuel were first published in the early 1970s, governments acknowledged the possible environmental impact in 1991, and 20 years later global warming is continuing at an alarming rate. The 39 percent increase in carbon dioxide (CO₂) since 1900 may have appeared harmless at first, but scientists are beginning to worry about the most rapid changes in temperature patterns in recorded history. Thousands of initiatives have been discussed, some have been implemented, but few slow the production of greenhouse gas and the imbalance continues to grow. We have gotten into whitewater rafting — we are all in it and it’s too late to get out. Everyone hangs on for the ride, lest we drown!

To reflect on our frivolous energy consumption, let’s step into a time capsule and fly 500 years into the future. As we mingle with the crowd in the new world, we hear folks grumbling about the boisterous oil pow-wow that started in the early 1900s and lasted until the end of 2000. We learn that these future generations despise the lavish lifestyle of the past. They say, “Our forefathers burned the vast global oil reserve virtually overnight, built cities with only the car in mind to satisfy adult pleasures, and gave little consideration to children, future sustainability and quality of life.”

Folks in the new word fret over the environmental damage that forced millions of farmers in water-starved territories to flee the land because of encroaching deserts. School textbooks describe how during the time of cheap oil, wealthy businessmen lined their pockets while politicians sank the countries into debt so deep that it became impossible to repay the money borrowed. Folks wonder why educated government leaders could not predict the end of cheap oil.

No one likes changes, and when the medical associations realized in the 1970s that smoking tobacco is harmful to human health, US president Ronald Reagan hinted, and I paraphrase, “Yes, we must tell citizens to smoke less, but let’s not hurt the tobacco industry.” In newspapers we read how governments spend billions of dollars to reduce the dependency on oil through subsidy, and on the next page we are bombarded with full-page ads promoting monster SUVs and trucks offering larger engines and more horsepower than last year’s models. Governments must work with the private sector to achieve energy sustainability and prepare for alternate energy resources. Opposing the objective is like putting one jet engine on reverse-thrust while flying mid air.

Will our politicians have the strength to lead the world after the peak-oil era? Giving subsidies to encourage old habits for the sake of short-term economical and political gains will not prepare us for the future. Instead of racking up debts to hide from the true cost of energy, a strong government should build reserves to prepare for the higher energy costs. Biblical Joseph did this in Egypt 3,000 years ago. Foretold in a prophetic dream about seven prosperous years followed by seven meager years, Joseph stored grain during the bountiful seven years to bridge the famine years that followed (Genesis 41). It seems as if our Creator has given man enough intelligence to restrain nature but not enough to prevent destruction. Energy, the servant that brought much prosperity, may one day turn back and demand its wages.

To satisfy the hunger for energy, we devour more resources than the Earth can provide. Our consumption is one-and-a-half times what the Earth can produce in a sustainable continuum. Governments are hesitant to educate citizens to live with less, lest the economic will suffer. Yet, while energy is still abundant and cheap, we must begin reducing consumption and switch to renewable resources, an exercise that will gradually replace oil. Scientists have made several attempts at this in the past, but the results have been mixed.
In the 1990s, we put faith in the fuel cell using clean hydrogen. Technical hurdles and high costs still stand in its way as an alternative to the internal combustion engine. The first decade in the twenty-first century drew the world to renewable energies such as solar power, wind energy and bio-fuels. While this is a positive more, these energies cost several times more than fossil fuels, and to compensate governments provide subsidies. An installed solar system costs.

$10–12 per watt; generating one kWh is $0.40. Wind power comes in at roughly half this. Meanwhile, electricity from the gird is only $0.10kWh in many parts of the world. It costs $9 to produce 10 liters (2.6 US gallons) of ethanol. The limitation of ethanol production is availability of land and sufficient water.
We cannot afford another miscalculation, especially when our governments have spent billions of tax dollars to develop a laptop battery for the vehicular powertrain. This outlay comes at a time when our countries are already in deep debt and citizens are not prepared to change their way of life. Nor are cities being planned for efficient transit and fewer cars.

The battery of the future should do more than provide transportation. It must solve our future energy needs by capturing electrical energy from renewable sources and delivering it to the people for consumption. This super battery must store energy when it is available in abundance and distribute it when the demands are high. Such a cycle would be sustainable and do minimal harm to our environment.

No battery exists today that is capable of substituting for fossil fuel. Science may one day discover a power source that lies outside the electrochemical dell battery and works on the law of physics, producing energy in a continuous form much like our sun. Once we shift our minds away from oil, such an achievement might be possible.

Pledge to Humanity
The goal for humanity is to attain an environment that is sustainable, find spiritual fulfillment and provide social justice. Rich nations may not reach this objective without the help of poorer countries. The developing world might one day come forward to teach the well established that material possessions do not satisfy and that the deeper meaning of life lies in love, relationships and spiritual fulfillment. These caring people will tell the rich nations to go back to the basics and rediscover the bounty of this earth by letting go of excess baggage. Individuals who find the virtue of simplicity will enjoy life more with fewer material possessions than those who have plenty and strive for more.