A Shift in the Energy Paradigm

Essay by StephF09College, UndergraduateA-, July 2009

download word file, 16 pages 3.0

1. IntroductionHumans use some sort of fuel in almost all aspects of their everyday lives in modern society (Alhajji 2003). Fuel is required to light a house, heat a stove, drive a car, and even create food to eat. The United States is dependant upon fossil fuels for these activities; in 2007 we consumed almost 91,000 trillion kilojoules of energy from fossil fuels alone (EIA, 2008). We acquire these fuels by drilling into the ground and removing carbon material that has been under great temperature and pressure for millions of years (DOE 2008). We cannot create more ourselves, and have only the resources contained within the planet. The rate at which we have been using fossil fuels is very high, and we are now facing a situation where they are limited (Alhajji 2003). Since fuel is so key to human activities, especially in the global north, there appears to be a need for a change in energy policy.

Due to the large amount of fossil fuels we use, this will not be easily achieved. We must focus on the ideals of survivalism as this stresses the surpassing of our limits and need for a reduction in consumption; along with a renewable source so we can overall minimize the use fossil fuels. There are many other discourses that have aspects pertaining to our energy situation. Prometheans do not find this dependence to be an issue whatsoever, and believe in continued use at the same rate, until all fossil fuels are gone. This has appeal for the masses, but does not solve our dependence on fossil fuels. Administrative rationalists argue that there is a need for a renewable source, but this is easily solvable by investing government funds in scientific research by experts. We do not need to focus on decreasing consumption...