As we saw in class, there is so much to learn about energy: its sources, its uses, its dangers and its promises for our world. So, this weekend let us begin.
I am technologically unable to convert today's Power Point to a webpage for linkage here. Perhaps Felipe will help figure that out. Until then, though, here are two things. First, a video on energy. I watched it; it is of a student using media clips to present on the topic of "peak oil," which is related to what we are studying. I found it interesting and provocative. We will talk about other points of view on Monday.
Also, I ask that you look through the following series of articles on energy at the globalissues.org site. When you have looked at these materials relating to our presentation today, post your comments below. I want everyone to post something insightful on what we learned today or what you read. Questions are okay, too.
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14 comments:
Relating to Mr. Witchger's presentation, I think the most incredible, and disheartening, statistic is how the United States, making up only four percent of the world's population, consumes twenty-six percent of the world's energy. This says something about the "character" of America and its citizens. We spend so much time trying to find alternative sources of energy, but maybe we should also consider using less energy. Of course this is easier for one person to say then for a country to do, but even if Americans continue to grossly overuse sources of energy, even the abuse of alternative fuels will have a negative impact on the world. Alternative fuels is currently the main issue, but overconsumption is the "elephant in the room" which few wish to examine because most American's feel any limits on consumption is an infringement on personal rights. Unfortuantley, those personal rights tend to be a higher priority then the rights and well-being of others'. -Randy Ebright
All of the articles on global issues. org are quite interesting and informative. I believe that it is essential that we research and look into alternative fuel options. Without an effective alternative we will continue to be at the mercy of OPEC nations. With the globalization of China and India there are many more people that will need fuel for cars in the near future. We must prepare for the very real possibility that the cost of fossil fuels will continue to increase as the sources continue to become depleated. This is a problem that will take many years and many great minds to overcome, so it is essential that we begin research, with the help of the international community as soon as possible.
-Mike Evans
One of Americans' many downfalls is a false sense of entitlement. We think we earn the right to use any amount of resources we want as long as we're willing to pay for it. We grossly consume more resources per capita than we actually need for survival, but it's ok because we pay for it and ultimately the environment exists only to further pad up our cushy lives.
Well I might counter myself and argue that our culture and life style requires the consumption of more resources, for example how hard it is to get anything done without a car and how reliant we are on electricity, and so I do feel that we need to start adjusting how we live to lower that amount of resources we consume. The perennial problem is what we're willing to give up, and often the answer is not much.
The source and summit of the American dream is the Almighty Dollar. Making money is overwhelmingly our goal, and it is our answer to all our problems. When we pay for electricity and water and gas, we psychologically attach the notion of ownership and use those resources however we want, with seemingly little regard for the consequences to others in our community, to people in other countries, or to the environment. We're selfish. We want what we want, we think we deserve anything we're willing to pay for, and we don't care who or what is negatively impacted.
What worries me about the energy situation is the messy relationships and dependence we have on unstable areas of the world for so much of our oil. In class we talked about the concept of security; I find it ironic that we are so willing and eager even to put our safety at risk so we can sustain our damaging and wasteful way of life. We're just losing all around.
The statistics is what struck me most about the presentation. The fact that Americans make up 4% of the population yet consume 26% of the world’s energy is astounding. And the numbers concerning alternative energy and their CO2 emissions compared to oil is also surprising yet promising at the same time. Because alternative fuels, especially sugar and cellulose ethanol, require less fossil fuel energy to make the product, they are a cheaper source of fuel and they emit less CO2 in the environment which will significantly slow down the effects of global warming. But more importantly I think switching to this type of fuel will go over well with the American public because it is less expensive and we will not feel that they have to give up a luxury for the sake of the environment. My only question is why we have not switched to it already, considering the fact that we are consuming ridiculous amounts of oil at ridiculous prices and damaging the environment beyond repair.
First off, the most shocking piece of information I learned from Mr. Witchger was how the U.S. uses up 25% of the global energy, whereas the U.S. only consists of 4% of the population...how appalling! It is mind boggling to think of how big of a problem that is, but unfortunately it is definitely believable. I also thought it was very informative to hear about ethanol. I had no idea that sugar cane produced five times more energy than what is put in, however, the CO2 emission definitely has to be taken in to consideration. My first thought was that more sugar cane should be produced in to ethanol, but once I heard that it emitted 80% of CO2, I thought differently. These are huge problems, it seems that no matter what is done with any problem, another problem occurs with the next thing. It also seems as if global issues as a whole is sitting at one point on a circle and just keeps going round and round....I can't wait to learn more!
Oops, the last comment was by me-Nichole Molnar :)
Peak Oil is scary. It is amazing to hear that the U.S.A. was the major exporters of oil in the 50's, to now, being the major IMPORTERS of oil of today. Brazil basically eliminated its reliance of importing oil in the 70's. Their usage of oil since the 70's has declined greatly. The U.S. Faced an oil crisis in the 70's due to the Arab Oil Embargo, yet we are still Energy Hogs and very much so, still reliant upon oil. Our Transportation of food, Medical Supplies, and even PLASTIC comes from OIL. That is really something to think about if/when there is no oil. What has the U.S. learned from this, obviously NOTHING. In the 70's, instead of the U.S. being preoccupied with "SMOKING PEACE pipes" of Free Love and Daisy's, they should have been consumed with creating alternative fuels, and solutions to decrease our needs of Petroleum. D. Pickens
We need to find other resources for us to use to fuel our vehicles,heat our homes, and to provide us with electricity. It is sad to think that we are the ones who are using the most energy but yet we are only a small percentage of the global population. I read an article yesterday commenting on how costal areas of the US are going to be gone anywhere from 50-150 years because of global warming. They say it is enevitable no matter what we do but why not get a leg up and start working on some solutions for this and prevent future disasters from happening to our children and grandchildren. If the world runs out of oil, we are all in trouble and we will have a major economic crunch. This is scary to think about because we will no longer be able to drive anywhere we want when we feel like it and we will most likely have food shortages because food gets transported by vehicles that use gas. Many solutions are out there, we just need to become more proactive about finding them.
I think that the one thing that really opened my eyes was when Felipe said that the US amounts for 4% of the worlds population yet we use 26% of the worlds energy. This stat shows that we really dont ever think about using less. we all thing that everything we use in everyday ife is a necessity when in fact most of the rest of the world thinks of these "necessities" as priviledges. I think that the point can be made that before we start to look for an alternative energy source we must first look at the amount of energy we use and drastically change that. G. Davidson
I feel the United States using 26% of the worlds energy could be a great thing. I do not see this as a problem. I see this as a way to advance. The US is one of the power houses of the world. The ability to stay ahead of the game and be so technology advanced is great. Technology does require a lot of energy though and that is why we account for the big of a percentage. In response to Randy's post, i agree that the citizens of the US will will not reduce their energy supply unless they are forced to. A question for our speaker that i was wondering. The US outsources a lot, i was wondering if it would be beneficial to set up a ethanol plant in like somewhere in South America and just ship the ethanol back?...just an idea/question
Even though I'm an avid supporter of alternative energy, I have to throw out a couple things: First, yes the whole sugar cane thing is great news, but we really have to consider what Felipe mentioned about burning the fields in order to harvest it. Also, we can bet our socks that if the US starts purchasing sugar cane ethanol from Brazil, they'll start leveling rainforests in order to make more fields for sugar cane. "We"'d also probably being insisting that we buy the raw sugar from them so we can process it ourselves, which would undo my initial excitement about the "fair trade energy". Another thing to consider is that farmer in Brazil would probably all start growing sugar instead of whatever other crops they grow, in which case Brazil would be less self-sufficient because they'd have to import food. Another thing to consider is that as "fair" as the energy may be, we can't forget the fact that (basically) only 5 families control the money in Brazil, so the people harvesting the sugar will probably end up with longer days and harsher conditions.
I was inspired and excited by the solar power article, but again, how many resources does it take to produce those solar panels? And how long will it take to make up for the inevitable damage the production of those panels causes. How often do they break? When they do, is it like the florescent light bulb paradox? Yes, the light bulbs are energy efficient and save alot of power, but when they break, they release a gas that's toxic to humans and contributes to global warming.
There are just too many factors in any situation to call anything a true solution.
Peak Oil is extremely scary. I feel that this video should put people in the realization that we should do something about this. Our society is to use to the lifestyle that we have and if we change that, the society will not know what to with themselves. the really sad part is that the united states only makes up for four percent of the worlds population but we consume twenty-six percent of the world's energy. I think we need a drastic change in our society.
C.Albert
It's hard to believe that the Untied States exported oil and only has 2% of the oil reserves. The Untied States is the number one oil exporter. This shows that the Untied States imports more oil than any other country. I think the Untied States should look about how much oil we use more wisely. This can be a serious issue if people start to injure this.
-Amara
There seems to be a repetitive theme in the articles on global issues. Everyone is out for themselves. While environmentalists are questioning the consumption and distribution of fuels, powerful countries are questioning where they can get more and who can they take it from. The problems of environment and fuel consumption will remain problems until the leaders of our major nations learn to share and play nice.I'm guessing that a bunch of rich political figures in their late 50's+, could care less about what happens to the planet. I think they are satisfied just knowing that it won't happen on their time. Each article gave me a negative feeling about the US, China, and Russia. We are greedy, sneeky, and take from the more impoverished nations in order to feed our glutton ways.Wow!That was extremely negative. Well,Ummmm....Bush is funny and he always makes me laugh with his eloquent choice of words.That's positive, right?
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