GLOBAL QUESTIONS Are We Running Out of Energy Christiane Dorion
Chapter 1 Why is energy a hot issue To understand why energy is important think about what you do in a single day You wake up to the sound of an alarm clock switch on the light and have a hot shower Maybe you walk to school drive or catch a bus If the weather is cold your school will be heated When you come home you might heat up a snack in the microwave and watch TV All these things use energy Why do we need energy Like other living things humans need energy to survive We get our energy from the plants and animals we eat It enables us to think grow jump run and dance We have learned to harness energy from the sun to make things work for us With energy we make electricity and can heat or cool our homes Energy allows cars buses trucks trains and planes to move and with it we can make all kinds of things from sunglasses and sneakers to cell phones and computers Where does our energy come from Did you know that the gas in your car comes from the decay of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago long before dinosaurs roamed the earth Gas is derived from fossil fuels which took a long time to form The Bund shown here lit up at night is one of the most famous streets in Shanghai China As the world’s cities grow and energy demands increase the way we produce distribute and use energy is damaging the environment
Oil and gas were created from the remains of tiny marine animals buried at the bottom of the ocean Long after the prehistoric seas vanished these animal remains were compressed by heat and pressure Oil was formed first but in deeper and hotter areas the cooking process continued until natural gas was formed The same process also created coal from the remains of trees and ferns Why is energy a hot issue World energy consumption by source Biomass 3 Nuclear 4 Hydropower 7 Geothermal wind solar 1 Others 1 Oil 32 Gas 23 Coal 29 Source BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2013 Renewables 2014 Global Status Report 2014 Most of our energy comes from oil coal and natural gas which will run out someday Only 8 percent of our energy comes from renewable resources Why do we need to change our energy use Today fossil fuels provide 87 percent of our energy Until recently they were the cheapest source of energy Oil powers 90 percent of the world’s transportation and coal is the most popular fuel for generating electricity Natural gas is used mainly for heating But there are two huge problems with using fossil fuels First they are nonrenewable because they take millions of years to form and can only be used once If we keep using them as we are now nearly all of the existing reserves will be gone by the end of the twenty-second century Second when we burn fossil fuels we produce polluting gases that contribute to warming the earth’s temperature This is why we need to find alternatives FOCUS And then there was light Lhaba a 33-year-old farmer used to light her stone house in the remote village of Zem in Tibet with candles and lights made from butter oil In June 2006 a new solar power plant started to supply her house and the homes of 44 other families Lhaba now has electric lights a television and a machine to make butter tea With 3,000 hours of sun per year Tibet has the highest potential for solar power in the world after the Sahara desert Access to energy will help improve the villagers standards of living 7
