What We Can Do to Solve the Global Energy Crisis
What will happen when we use up all the fossil fuels in the world? We might not run out tomorrow or even within the next ten years, but eventually it will happen. We need to stop depleting our natural resources and polluting the planet. In other words, we need to solve the world’s energy crisis now, instead of just talking about the problem.
We need to concentrate our efforts on finding solutions rather than trying to pin the blame on something or someone. Truthfully, many countries around the world are trying to do something about it, but we still need to do more. If we would just stop fighting among ourselves and start acting more productively, we could find several ways to solve the energy crisis.
The world’s response to the crisis in Haiti is a good example of what we can do. Massive earthquakes recently devastated much of this small island nation. Supplies, manpower and money are being pumped into Haiti by many different countries, and all of this aid is desperately needed by Haiti to recover from the disaster. Haiti is the most recent occurrence, but countries frequently come together and pitch in after a major disaster.
There is another major disaster occurring all over the world, so what about it? This disaster is one of our own making and is not due to any natural event. If we all worked together to overcome this disaster and solve the crisis the same way we do in other times of crisis, it would be easy to solve the problem. We might be able to slow down or even stop many of the effects of global warming.
There are a variety of things we can do to halt the world’s energy crisis. Many renewable energy sources are abundant, including geothermal, solar and wind, to name a few. There are many proven ways to safely and efficiently power vehicles without needing to use any fossil fuels. Biodiesel has been used for more than a century, but hydrogen fuel cells, electricity and even compressed air can also be used.
There are people and countries that are trying. In India for example, they are using human waste turned into fuel to power electrical plants. There are solar and wind farms springing up all over the world.
Individuals are even pitching in. Recycling is more prevalent, and residential renewable energy derived from wind and sun is used in more places. People are also conserving energy by reducing their usage of water, by turning off unneeded lights and by unplugging their appliances instead of just turning off the power. Energy efficient appliances such as tankless hot water heaters are becoming more popular, and many people now use compact fluorescent bulbs instead of regular incandescent light bulbs.
The question is, is this enough? Not at the moment. However, if the cost of vehicles that run on alternative fuels were to come down, if every household switched over to renewable energy, if recycling became mandatory around the globe, this would be a good start. If more money was spent on researching and developing alternative forms of power, and implementing the ones we already have on a larger scale, yes, we could solve the world’s energy crisis.
Author: Jerry Dyess has been managing companies in the Texas Energy business for the past 7 years. He has published many articles on Texas Power rates.
