The Game Must Go On

Understanding Energy

The use of hydrocarbons will be confined to a short period of history, and must end well before their reserves are ex-hausted. We must now look beyond “the hydrocarbon era.”

Energy is the Food of Civilizations

The prediction that petroleum reserves are running out has surfaced periodically since early in the twentieth century. More recently, an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide content has stirred some to condemn the use of hydrocarbon fuels for energy needs. To deal with the realities which are consequent on the use of hydrocarbons for energy production, we should examine energy uses and reserves from a fundamental and impassionate perspective. Then we need to examine the alternatives. This will lead us to conclusions which will force us to consider the future of nuclear energy. The prophets of nuclear doom rarely deal realistically with energy needs and often smack of a Luddite attitude intended to stop technological progress, plain and simple. They seem to be unaware of the critical importance of energy to all that we do.

Civilizations require more than moral principles and effective social structures in order to flourish; they need physical resources as well. Climate, arable soil, water, and access to markets have long been recognized as necessary for society to prosper and progress. Over time, the requirements for success have been fundamentally reordered by technological progress. In addition to these physical assets, good education, broadly acceptable government, efficient transport and communications and vigorous technology have advanced to the forefront of preconditions for success in modern societies. This may have diverted attention from the one irreducible physical requirement which has been key to success in all vigorous societies, at all times: cheap plentiful energy.

Energy is a critical nutrient of life and an indispensable ingredient for the progress of civilization. Energy beyond human strength releases us from drudgery and makes leisure time available for our personal enjoyment and cultural pursuits. By making adequate amounts of appropriate forms of energy available we have been able to create the means of rapid transportation, a vast range of technologies, and all the conveniences of modern life. It is the one critical physical resource which allows the production, distribution and assembly of all the infrastructure we rely on for our sustenance and comfort. Most of the other necessities we urgently need are either plentiful (e.g. water) or substitutable (e.g. natural fibers).

The Silva Rerum, Where We Play the Game

In the essays above we have examined some of the trees in our “forest of things”, the Silva Rerum. As indicated in the preface, the topics turn out to be connected, although the selection may still seem idiosyncratic to the reader. Now that we have discussed the several issues and seen some of the connections, we can try to tie it all up into a cohesive bundle, make clear the reasons for the choice of topics, and see what was achieved. Now we take an overview of the forest of interactions.

The principal reality-based issue turns out to be our need for energy. Nothing else will make accessible the resources needed for improving our-selves by examining, exploring, exploiting, and understanding the physical world, even the universe, that surrounds us. Our total need for energy is not going to diminish, and in fact we can expect it to grow as we aspire to do more with our developing technological capabilities. We must come to terms with this reality and make sure our energy future is secure and non-polluting. The only way to accomplish this over the long term is with nuclear energy.

This brings us to the second most important issue, our environment. It has nourished us up to this stage of our development but, as we increasingly come to command the fate of the earth, we are at the point of becoming custodians rather than dependents of our world. Our “Mother Earth” is now in danger of being victimized by thoughtless juvenile actions on our part. Our responsibility is clear: we must take care of our planet, but to do that we need not go back to a primitive past. We need to take responsibility for the fact that the earth is changing due to our presence - and we must direct the changes to good ends. The earth has made us what we are, and our ambition now should be to take care of our home planet and save her legacy for our descendants to use and enjoy. There is no going back.

The mention of our descendants brings us to the issue of sex. It turns out that our misunderstanding of the purposes and responsibilities of sexual activity has led us onto paths that could spell doom for the human race. We could simply disappear from the face of the earth by failing to reproduce ourselves. This is a shocking conclusion for all those who have been agitating for women’s rights to abortion and birth control, using overpopulation as the rallying cry. It turns out that overpopulation is manageable by nature, but the low fertility ratios that result from the way we deal with sexual issues and with prosperity have caused a problem that nature is not prepared to solve. Moreover, we have no technical means or policies in view that will help us deal with this using presently available means. Even if and when technical solutions are developed, the question will remain: what for?