The Past and Future of Energy Usage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Past and Future of Energy Usage - Essay Example Two works that have recently been published that attempt to replace this rhetorical sideshow with legitimate information is Vaclav Smil's Energy at the Crossroads and Alfred Crosby's Children of the Sun. Crosby's work offers a natural history of energy consumption from the development of fire and cooking all the way to third millennial technological possibilities such as the holy grail of nuclear fusion. Smil's presents a more detailed analysis of the economic and energy situation of the past century focusing specifically on the statistical utilization of hydrocarbon technologies in various countries. Their respective accounts and arguments give a good overall picture of the natural evolutionary, economic and environmental impact of the past, present and long-term future of energy. The primary thrust of Crosby's argument is that the story of technology in tandem with humanity has always been about finding novel ways of exploiting the same source of energy: the Sun. As humanity has expanded and become more socially and culturally sophisticated technology has responded by finding consistently more efficient ways to harness the sun's powers, indirectly through wood and biomass and in more recent times, directly through wind and solar power utilization. However, unlike other analyses Crosby places humanity within nature versus against nature, and thus his work is a "natural history" of energy consumption rather than a litany of environmental offenses we have committed against nature. Of course, Crosby is sympathetic to the Malthusian end game at stake. He reveals through historical examples that every crossroads or crisis point, humanity has found a way to transform technologically the way in which we utilize energy to avoid the collapse of civilization. One speci fic example of this was the dependence on whale oil in the 18th century. "Humanity's yearnings for the convenience of light at night, though implemented through a primitive technology, were endangering a whole species of Cetacea."1 The two options to resolving this yearning included conservation, unthinkable by all except for the most progressive of individuals, or finding a substitute, which turned out to be kerosene and "the history of human exploitation of sun energy took another violent turn."2 The situation is much the same, today's whale oil is petroleum, with two "minor" complications here in the 21st century 1) the global political and economic dynamic have interposed agendas on technological transformation, and 2) hesitancy in adopting conservationist practices has placed a significant stress on the planets resources locally and globally. The question of Oil is more than just a question of natural history; it has become the bellwether issue of our time. Many would assert that the current situation in the Middle East is directly related to this question, and the political catchphrase of the decade has been "reducing our dependence on foreign oil." Smil's statistical analysis of oil usage is thorough and he means to tackle the popular debate regarding the "Peak Oil" theory. Peak Oil offers that at some point in the near past or near future3 maximum oil production will be reached followed by terminal decline. The consequences of failing to find a viable alternative energy form or