The oil, gas and coal that power human activity are in
reality Solar
Energy that was captured and stored millions of years ago, just as
plants
today continue to capture and store it. But the supply of these fossil
fuels is finite. For example, in the last century, humans have consumed
nearly half of all of the oil that will ever be produced. Consider this
in the context of 5000 years of human history. The burning of fossil
fuels
degrades our environment. Approach any major city and observe the brown
haze that engulfs it. We are even managing to change the climate of the
Earth itself. The hidden costs are immense, including tax breaks for
fossil
fuel companies, increased health costs, the long-term costs of climate
change, and the cost of military presence in the Persian Gulf. It is
clear
that human society must eventually be powered by the Renewable Energy
sources,
Solar and its derivatives. Why not make the switch sooner rather than
later?
A clever new study [PDF] from the World Future Council attempts to do something I haven’t seen before: quantify the cost of not using renewables.
The
idea is pretty simple. When we use finite fossil fuels to generate
energy, rather than the inexhaustible, renewable alternatives, we make
those fossil fuels unavailable for non-energetic uses (think
petrochemicals) in the future. In other words, when we burn fossil
fuels for energy, we are needlessly destroying valuable industrial
capital stock.
