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Thread: What is Energy?

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[quote=DAVEBROYLES             ,28601]To Windenergy:I view myself in more pragmatic terms.  I am far more concerned with fossil fuel consumption in the United States.  The reason:  We are the largest consumers of fossil fuels.  True, China now does consume more coal than the U.S.  However, their population is four times greater than the U.S.  On a per capita basis, the U.S. consumes three times as much coal as China.With regard to petroleum, the numbers are far worse.  The U.S. is the number one consumer, consuming 20 billion barrels per year.  China is second, consuming 6 billion barrels per year.  Per capita, the U.S. consumes 14 times as much as China.The problem with this pervasive use of fossil fuels (coal and oil) is that the present pattern of consumption is not sustainable.  In the longer term, it will not be possible to sustain economic growth that will be based upon oil consumption.  The oil won't be there. There is no question that consumption of oil and coal has fueled massive economic growth over the past two centuries.  Beyond the next 20 years, however, further economic growth must be based upon something other than oil and coal.  My personal home is powered by solar electricity.  However, I am not an advocate of "alternative energy" per se.  I don't even like the term.  We need to carefully codify and rethink our culture's patterns of thought that relate to "energy".  Energy isn't a problem to be solved.  Energy is itself the question.  Should "energy" be retained at all, or should the whole pattern of thought be discarded?I am hoping that China and several other developing countries will be able to bypass energy altogether.  They are not yet as heavily invested in the old pattern of thought as we are.  They are spending massively on capital development.  I hope that they will begin to structure their development around some new pattern of scientific and technological thought.We Americans need to remember that "energy" is 100% Western, 0% Chinese.  If some new pattern develops, it will likely have no greater respect for "alternative energy" than for coal and oil.[/quote]

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