Rising gas prices and turmoil in the Middle East have once again thrust energy issues to the center of the presidential campaign.
As usual, the incumbent is being blamed for failing to ease our pain at the pump. But this time around there’s a new twist in the script. Instead of vowing to lower prices, President Obama is noting that we have little control over the price of energy in a thirsty global market.
Between 1971 and 2009 per capita energy consumption around the world grew by 34 percent, according to the World Bank. It grew another 5.6 percent in 2010; projections only see this upward trend continuing.
By viewing energy in a world context, we’re adding some much-needed reason to the debate. But that does not go far enough. The economic growth of India, China and other developing countries is only a symptom, not a root cause, of the surging demand for energy. A more fundamental dynamic is at work. To take a truly global view of energy we must look past politics to physics — yes, physics.
Widening our lens to include not only human activity but also the natural world, we make a startling discovery: everything around us is doing exactly what we are, using more power to move more mass more easily on the landscape. This is not the result of accident or choice but a manifestation of a universal law — as powerful as the laws of motion and thermodynamics — that has shaped our world, and our selves. It tells us why, despite growing fears of global warming, increased calls for conservation and technological breakthroughs that have increased efficiency, we continue to use more and more power.
As usual, the incumbent is being blamed for failing to ease our pain at the pump. But this time around there’s a new twist in the script. Instead of vowing to lower prices, President Obama is noting that we have little control over the price of energy in a thirsty global market.
Between 1971 and 2009 per capita energy consumption around the world grew by 34 percent, according to the World Bank. It grew another 5.6 percent in 2010; projections only see this upward trend continuing.
By viewing energy in a world context, we’re adding some much-needed reason to the debate. But that does not go far enough. The economic growth of India, China and other developing countries is only a symptom, not a root cause, of the surging demand for energy. A more fundamental dynamic is at work. To take a truly global view of energy we must look past politics to physics — yes, physics.
Widening our lens to include not only human activity but also the natural world, we make a startling discovery: everything around us is doing exactly what we are, using more power to move more mass more easily on the landscape. This is not the result of accident or choice but a manifestation of a universal law — as powerful as the laws of motion and thermodynamics — that has shaped our world, and our selves. It tells us why, despite growing fears of global warming, increased calls for conservation and technological breakthroughs that have increased efficiency, we continue to use more and more power.
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