Let’s get Electrified — Part 1
By the way, if you got here based on the title, don’t worry. Nobody is getting an electric shock. It was just a catchy title for me to discuss the future of energy with you. Nowadays, the term “sustainability” gets thrown quite a bit in mainstream media and across economic forums. But, what does sustainability actually mean and what does that mean for humans on this planet? Before, I answer this question, let me just clarify two things. One, I am not going to talk about climate change in this story simply because it is a very politicised term at the moment and those who know me well know that I despise dividing people based on their opinions and beliefs. Second, I am not going to claim Elon is a godly figure who is going to save the rest of humanity from its downfall. Now, with these two assertions established, let’s talk about the future of energy, shall we?
One thing that I’ve observed is that the secrets of the future often lie in the past. So, before we talk about the future of energy, let’s actually talk about how humans have evolved and how energy fits into the picture. In the early days, when we were primordial beings, the only needs for us — as a species — was food and water. We just needed food and water to sustain our physical presence in this planet. Even, clothes and a house, which seem a necessity today were not even a need back then because we were not “civilized.” We were just monkeys with a brain.
As evolution took place, farming required a group of humans to congregate and create settlements. Under this new entity called a civilization, humans needed to be able to communicate with each other, which included presenting themselves better and protecting themselves from the struggles of the environment. Hence, grew the need for clothing and a place to reside. Even with these needs established, clothes and houses did not really grow as an economic venture until the dawn of the industrial growth in the west took place during the 19th and 20th century. So far, what I’ve discussed is been written in history books and discussed in news articles. But, what is not emphasized is the importance of energy in furthering the growth of these as well as other needs that we have as humans today.
Whenever I talk about energy in academic and professional circles, everyone alludes to Thomas Edison and the invention of the lightbulb as the stroke of genius that change humanity forever. Sure, Edison did do his part. But, the dawn of the energy age started much earlier than the invention of the light bulb in 1880. It started with the invention of the Steam Engine 1712. With this invention in hand and natural resources like Coal, the industrial revolution made its mark on this planet, driving textile industries, housing and many more capital oriented ventures. It is during this phase that the human population grew almost 4x just in Europe alone.
The energy growth during this “golden” period was able to sustain and support the population growth simply because we already had invented the required technology to run the machines and mother earth had enough supplies in stock to help her children with energy. But the situation today is quite different? How’s it different you ask? You’ll have to wait for my next story to learn more about it. Until then, goodbye.
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