The Global Energy Crisis
Websites devoted to the global energy crisis
and related issues
A new era of sustainable energy is dawning.
Decisions must be informed by analysis and science.
New at Planetforlife
A large, new subject has been added. It is called
"The Science Underlying the Deepwater Horizon
Blowout."
The "The Coming Gas Crisis" subject has been removed.
It was obsolete and just plain wrong.
Mission Statement
Find out what inspired the creation of this
website.
Baloney Detector
Is it science? Or is it baloney? Let Carl Sagan
explain how to tell the difference.
Book Reviews, etc.
Book reviews, magazine articles, recent news and
reader comments may be found here.
The View From Space
Who left the lights on? NASA answers that question
for the whole planet.
Visitor Counter
(Many visitors bypass index page.)
A statement of the problem in capsule form
Abundant and economical energy is the life blood of modern civilizations. The bargraph shows oil, coal and natural gas together supplying 85 percent of the world's energy supply in 2008.
Coal, nuclear and hydro are used primarily to make
electricity. Natural gas is widely used for heating.
Biomass, which usually means wood or dried dung, is
used for heating and cooking. The red sliver is wind
and solar power, primarily. The red sliver may be
small, but it is the future because wind and solar
power are sustainable.
Oil powers almost all machines that move and that
makes oil uniquely versatile. Oil powered airplanes
carry 500 people across the widest oceans at nearly
the speed of sound. Oil powered machines produce and
transport food. In North America there are many more
seats in oil powered vehicles than there are
people. Oil powered machines are ubiquitous. Clearly,
we live in the age of oil, but the age of oil is
drawing to a close.
If oil production remains constant until it's gone,
there is enough to last 42 years. Oil wells produce
less as they become depleted which will make it
impossible to keep production constant. Similarly,
there is enough natural gas to last 61 years and
there is enough coal to last 133 years. Nearly
everyone realizes oil and gas will become scarce and
expensive within the life times of living humans.
Inevitably, there will be a transition to sustainable
energy sources. The transition may be willy-nilly or
planned--the choice is ours.
Consider the implications of the following
facts;
* The United States consumes 25 percent of the
world's oil and 70 percent of that is
imported.
* 61 percent of the world's oil reserves are in the
Middle East. The United States has 2.4
percent.
* 66.3 percent of the world's gas reserves are in
the Middle East and the Russian Federation. The
United States has 3.4 percent.
Because of our numbers and our technology, we humans
greatly influence the ecology of Earth. We humans,
qualified or not, are at the controls. Earth does not
come with an operating manual. We humans need to look
to science to create one.
The coming era of limited and expensive energy will
be very difficult for everyone on Earth but it will
be even more difficult if it is not anticipated. It
is of utmost importance that the public and
especially policymakers understand the global energy
crisis and the underlying science.
How to use this site
This is a large site and there are many links. The navigation buttons can take you everywhere. But there is another way. You can use Google to search this website. Try searching for Deepwater Horizon or TAPS.
