Managing Global Energy Crisis

Managing Global Energy Crisis

GLOBAL ENERGY CRISIS

THE WORLD TODAY IS IN A PERIOD OF THE ENERGY CRISIS, BECAUSE, WITHIN A FEW YEARS, GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF CONVENTIONAL OIL WILL BEGIN TO FALL, HAVING NOW REACHED THE LIMIT OF PRODUCTION, WHILE WORLD DEMAND CONTINUES TO INCREASE.

UNITED STATES HAS ACTIVELY MANAGED THE ENERGY CRISIS SINCE 1973 AND ONWARDS. ON THE OTHER HAND UNITED KINGDOM TOOK SOME STEPS ASWELL BUT THEY WERE NOT AS GOOD AS THE UNITED STATES.

OIL CONSUMPTION WAS QUANTIFIED IN 2004 IN 82'5 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY (EACH BARREL CONTAINS 159 LITRES) (IEA 2004), ACCOUNTING FOR 40% OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION. TO SUBMIT AN ANNUAL INCREASE IN GLOBAL CONSUMPTION THAT HAS OCCURRED EVERY YEAR SO FAR THIS CENTURY. THE U.S. BEING THE LARGEST CONTRIBUTOR TO ITS USE HAS INCREASED BY 20% IN THE LAST FOUR DECADES.

OIL TODAY IS FOUND EVERYWHERE, FROM THE PLASTICS USED IN PACKAGING OR ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES UNTIL THE FERTILIZERS USED IN AGRICULTURE HAVE IT AS A BASE. BETWEEN 1945 AND 1994, ENERGY INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURE INCREASED 120 TIMES, WHILE CROP YIELDS ONLY INCREASED 90 TIMES.

ENERGY ALTERNATIVES

NATURAL GAS IS THE ONE THAT IS INCREASING ITS USE, CONSTITUTING 24% OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION, AND HAS MANY ADVANTAGES, BUT ITS EXPLOITATION ALSO CONTRIBUTES TO THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT. AND FOLLOWS A HUBBERT CURVE STEEPER THAN OIL, SO THAT ONCE IT REACHES THE ZENITH, ABOUT TEN YEARS AFTER OIL, ITS DECLINE WILL BE MUCH MORE PRONOUNCED. IN NORTH AMERICA AND THE GAS SHORTAGE IS BECOMING A PRESSING PROBLEM.

COAL IS A FUEL HEAVY, INEFFICIENT, WITH LITTLE VERSATILITY AND GREAT COST OF EXTRACTION AND TRANSPORTATION. YET CONSUMPTION IS 25% OF THE AGGREGATE RESOURCES ENERGIES.

BIO-FUELS ARE NOT THE BENEFITS WHICH THE OIL AND GAS OIL TO INCREASE ITS PRODUCTION SIGNIFICANTLY, IT WOULD HAVE TO SPEND A LOT OF FERTILE LAND FOR CULTIVATION, WHICH IS DIFFICULT TO A WORLD WHERE HUNGER AND DESERTIFICATION ARE TWO OF ITS MOST INTRACTABLE PROBLEMS.

NUCLEAR FUSION, WHICH ARE PRODUCED IN THE SUN AND THAT GIVES US THE ENERGY THAT COMES FROM THE STAR, IS THE SOURCE OF ENERGY THAT IS SAID TO SOLVE ALL ENERGY PROBLEMS IN THE FUTURE, BUT TO OVERCOME THE TECHNOLOGICAL COMPLEXITIES ARE SUCH THAT SINCE THE INITIALLY PLANNED. AND WARNED THAT IT WOULD NOT BE AVAILABLE AT LEAST BEFORE THE LAST 50 YEARS, AND SO IT CONTINUES TODAY, DESPITE HAVING SPENT MORE THAN 30 SINCE THEN.

HYDROGEN IS NOT AN ENERGY SOURCE OR A NATURAL RESOURCE AND MUST BE OBTAINED ...