What is the Energy Crisis?

The energy crisis is the concern that the world’s demands on the limited natural
resources that are used to power industrial society are diminishing as the demand rises.
These natural resources are in limited supply. While they do occur naturally, it can take
hundreds of thousands of years to replenish the stores. Governments and concerned
individuals are working to make the use of renewable resources a priority, and to lessen
the irresponsible use of natural supplies through increased conservation.
The energy crisis is a broad and complex topic. Most people don’t feel connected to its
reality unless the price of gas at the pump goes up or there are lines at the gas station.
The energy crisis is something that is ongoing and getting worse, despite many efforts.
The reason for this is that there is not a broad understanding of the complex causes and
solutions for the energy crisis that will allow for an effort to happen that will resolve it.

Causes of the Energy Crisis

It would be easy to point a finger at one practice or industry and lay the blame for the
entire energy crisis at their door, but that would be a very naive and unrealistic
interpretation of the cause of the crisis.
1. Overconsumption: The energy crisis is a result of many different strains on our
natural resources, not just one. There is a strain on fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal
due to overconsumption – which then in turn can put a strain on our water and oxygen
resources by causing pollution.
2. Overpopulation: Another cause of the crisis has been the steady increase in the
world’s population and its demands for fuel and products. No matter what type of food
or products you choose to use – from fair trade and organic to those made from
petroleum products in a sweatshop – not one of them is made or transported without a
significant drain on our energy resources.
3. Poor Infrastructure: Aging infrastructure of power generating equipment is yet
another reason for energy shortage. Most of the energy producing firms keep on using
outdated equipment that restricts the production of energy. It is the responsibility of
utilities to keep on upgrading the infrastructure and set a high standard of performance.
4. Unexplored Renewable Energy Options: Renewable energy still remains unused is
most of the countries. Most of the energy comes from non-renewable sources like coal.
It still remains the top choice to produce energy. Unless we give renewable energy a
serious thought, the problem of energy crisis cannot be solved. Renewable energy
sources can reduce our dependance on fossil fuels and also helps to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
5. Delay in Commissioning of Power Plants: In few countries, there is a significant
delay in commissioning of new power plants that can fill the gap between demand and
supply of energy. The result is that old plants come under huge stress to meet the daily
demand for power. When supply doesn’t matches demand, it results in load shedding
and breakdown.
6. Wastage of Energy: In most parts of the world, people do not realize the importance
of conserving energy. It is only limited to books, internet, newspaper ads, lip service and
seminars. Unless we give it a serious thought, things are not going to change anytime
sooner. Simple things like switching off fans and lights when not in use, using maximum
daylight, walking instead of driving for short distances, using CFL instead of traditional
bulbs, proper insulation for leakage of energy can go a long way in saving energy.

7. Poor Distribution System: Frequent tripping and breakdown are result of a poor
distribution system.
8. Major Accidents and Natural Calamities: Major accidents like pipeline burst and
natural calamities like eruption of volcanoes, floods, earthquakes can also cause
interruptions to energy supplies. The huge gap between supply and demand of energy
can raise the price of essential items which can give rise to inflation.
9. Wars and Attacks: Wars between countries can also hamper supply of energy
specially if it happens in Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, UAE
or Qatar. That’s what happened during 1990 Gulf war when price of oil reached its peak
causing global shortages and created major problem for energy consumers.
10. Miscellaneous Factors: Tax hikes, strikes, military coup, political events, severe
hot summers or cold winters can cause sudden increase in demand of energy and can
choke supply. A strike by unions in an oil producing firm can definitely cause an energy
crisis.

Possible Solutions of the Energy Crisis

Many of the possible solutions are already in place today, but they have not been widely
adopted.
1. Move Towards Renewable Resources: The best possible solution is to reduce the
world’s dependence on non-renewable resources and to improve overall conservation
efforts. Much of the industrial age was created using fossil fuels, but there is also known
technology that uses other types of renewable energies – such as steam, solar and
wind. The major concern isn’t so much that we will run out of gas or oil, but that the use
of coal is going to continue to pollute the atmosphere and destroy other natural
resources in the process of mining the coal that it has to be replaced as an energy
source. This isn’t easy as many of the leading industries use coal, not gas or oil, as their
primary source of power for manufacturing.
2. Buy Energy Efficient products: Replace traditional bulbs with CFL’s and LED’s.
They use less watts of electricity and last longer. If millions of people across the globe
use LED’s and CFL’s for residential and commercial purposes, the demand for energy
can go down and an energy crisis can be averted.
3. Lighting Controls: There are a number of new technologies out there that make
lighting controls that much more interesting and they help to save a lot of energy and
cash in the long run. Preset lighting controls, slide lighting, touch dimmers, integrated
lighting controls are few of the lighting controls that can help to conserve energy and
reduce overall lighting costs.
4. Easier Grid Access: People who use different options to generate power must be
given permission to plug into the grid and getting credit for power you feed into it. The
hassles of getting credit of supplying surplus power back into the grid should be
removed. Apart from that, subsidy on solar panels should be given to encourage more
people to explore renewable options.
5. Energy Simulation: Energy simulation software can be used by big corporates and
corporations to redesign building unit and reduce running business energy cost.
Engineers, architects and designers could use this design to come with most energy
efficient building and reduce carbon footprint.
6. Perform Energy Audit: Energy audit is a process that helps you to identify the areas
where your home or office is losing energy and what steps you can take to improve
energy efficiency. Energy audit when done by a professional can help you to reduce
your carbon footprint, save energy and money and avoid energy crisis.
7. Common Stand on Climate Change: Both developed and developing countries
should adopt a common stand on climate change. They should focus on reducing
greenhouse gas emissions through an effective cross border mechanism. With current
population growth and over consumption of resources, the consequences of global
warming and climate change cannot be ruled out. Both developed and developing
countries must focus on emissions cuts to cut their emission levels to half from current
levels by 2050.

Why Conserve Energy?

Energy should be conserved since we are consuming disproportionate amount of
energy and that day is not far when all our Non-Renewable resources will expire forcing
us to rely just on Renewable Sources. The electricity that we use comes from nuclear
power, coal power plants, Oil that we use to run our vehicles are fossil fuels that were
created million of years ago from decaying plants. When burned they emit carbon-
dioxide which is harmful to humans and the environment.

Apart from these it also helps us to save money, mitigates the numerous adverse
environmental and social impacts associated with energy production and consumption.
These include air pollution, acid rain and global warming, oil spills and water pollution,
loss of wilderness areas, construction of new power plants, foreign energy dependence
and the risk of international conflict over energy supplies. Energy conservation extends
the lifetime of equipment and reduces the maintenance cost by operating less hours
and at less than maximum capacity.
Reduce Consumption on Non-Renewable Sources
Consumption on Non-Renewable Sources must be reduced as much as possible.
1. Resource Depletion : By using these resources in excess, they are going to deplete
one day and will take another millions of years to form again.
2. Save Money : Usage of fluorescent bulbs , solar electricity may cost expensive
initially but prove to be cost-effective in the long run. Many energy efficiency and
conservation measures are better investments than the stock market or bank interest.

3. Reduce Carbon-dioxide : If Non-Renewable resources are used up to the limit they

may also help in reducing the carbon-dioxide. Pollution from nuclear and coal power
plants cause diseases like asthma, emphysema etc.
4. Cliimate Change : Due to increase int the rate of these resources it also affect the
climate greatly, Drought, Severe storms, floods, land loss, erosion of soil and heat
deaths are few examples of climate change.
5. Ozone Layer Depletion : Ozone layer in the atmosphere protect us from ultraviolet
rays from reaching the earth thus, making life on the earth possible.
6. Adverse affect on humans and the environment : Extraction of Uranium and Coal
from beneath the earth cause huge affect to the lives of cola miners. These people have
high cancer death rates. They also harm the environment and agricultural lands.
7. Acid Rain : Coal power plants and vehicles emit sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrous
oxides (NOx). These travel beyond the local area and are harmful to the health
throughout whole regions. When SO2/NOx and water vapor mix under certain
conditions, sulfuric acid and nitric acid, know as acid rain, are formed. This is very
harmful to the lungs. It kills fish in lakes, corrodes property (buildings, monuments,
cars), harms the soil (releasing toxins), and harms trees and crops.
8. Global Warming : With so much dependence on Non renewable sources, global
warming is taking place all over the world and the result which is glaciers are melting
which is causing the rise in the sea level.
Common types of alternative energy
 Hydro electricity captures energy from falling water.
 Nuclear energy uses nuclear fission to release energy.
 Wind energy is the generation of electricity from the wind.
 Solar energy is the use of sunlight. Light can be changed into thermal (heat) energy and electric
energy.
 Geothermal energy is the use of the earth's internal heat to boil water for heating buildings or
generating electricity.
 Biofuel and Ethanol are plant-derived gasoline substitutes for powering vehicles.
 Hydrogen can serve as a means of delivering energy produced by various technologies.

What are Alternative Energy Sources?

Alternative energy encompasses all those things that do not consume fossil fuel. They
are widely available and environment friendly. They cause little or almost no pollution.
There have been several alternative energy projects running in various countries to
reduce our dependence on traditional fossil fuels. There are many impressive options
that you can take into consideration. Here in you will learn more about alternative
energy sources that you can take into consideration.

Solar Energy
Solar is the first energy source in the world. It was in use much earlier before humans
even learn how to light a fire. Many living things are dependent on solar energy from
plants, aquatic life and the animals. The solar is mostly used in generating light and
heat. The solar energy coming down to the planet is affected by the orbital path of the
sun and its variations within the galaxy. In addition, it is affected by activity taking place
in space and on the sun. It was this energy that is believed to have been responsible for
the breaking of ice during the ice age, which creates the separation of lands and sea.
Solar energy is one the alternative energy source that is used most widely across the
globe. About 70% of the sunlight gets reflected back into the space and we have only
30% of sunlight to meet up our energy demands. While solar energy is used for
producing solar energy, it is also used for drying clothes, used by plants during the
process of photosynthesis and also used by human beings during winter seasons to
make their body temperature warm. Solar energy can be extracted either by Solar
Thermal or using Photovoltaic (PV) Cells. Learn more about these methods here.

There are two kinds of solar energy the active solar energy and the passive solar
energy. Passive solar energy basically uses duration, position and sun’s rays intensity
to its advantage in heating a particular area. It also uses it to induce airflow from an
area to the next. Active solar energy uses electrical technology and mechanical
technology like collection panels in capturing, converting and storing of energy for future
use.
Solar energy does not create any pollution and is widely used by many countries. It is
renewable source of power since sun will continue to produce sunlight all the years.
Solar panels, which are required to harness this energy can be used for long time and
require little or no maintenance. Solar energy proves to be ineffective in colder regions
which don’t receive good sunlight. It cannot be used during night and not all the light
from sun can be trapped by solar panels. Solar energy advantages are much more than
its disadvantages which make it as a viable source of producing alternative energy.

Wind Energy
This is one of the energy sources that have been in use for a very long time and for
centuries. It was used in powering sailing ships, which made it possible for explorers to
sail around their trade routes in distant lands. A single windmill can power the crop
irrigation, and the family energy needs, water pumping and electric lights. However, in
the present time there are several windmills that are used to generate required energy
mostly for industrial uses. Many of the wind turbines can capture much power all at
once before feeding it to the power grid. This is commonly know as wind farms and has
been in use for many years all round the world. It is only the United States that is going
slow in terms of accepting this alternative energy source.
Wind power is renewable source of energy and reduces our alliance on foreign
countries for supply of oil and gas. It does not cause any air pollution and have created
several jobs in last few decades. Advancement in technologies has brought down the
cost of setting up wind power plant. Wind energy can only be used in areas which
experience high winds which mean that it cannot be used as a source to extract energy
anywhere on earth. They sometimes create noise disturbances and cannot be used
near residential areas. Thesedisadvantages have made the use of wind energy to
particular regions only.

Geothermal Energy
‘Geo’ means Earth and ‘thermal’ means energy. Geothermal energy means energy
drawn or harnessed from beneath the earth. It is completely clean and renewable.
Geothermal energy has been in used since last several years. The earth contains a
molten rock called magma. Heat is continuously produced from there. The temperature
increases about 3 degrees Celsius, for every 100 meters you go below ground. Below,
10,000 meters the temperature is so high, that it can be used to boil water. Water
makes its way deep inside the earth and hot rock boils that water. The boiling water
then produces steam which is captured by geothermal heat pumps. The steam turns the
turbines which in turn activates generators. Read more about working of Geothermal
energy here.
Geothermal energy can be found anywhere on the earth. Most countries tap this energy
to generate electricity and power millions of homes. The areas which have high
underground temperatures are the ones which are the ones which are prone to
earthquakes and volcanoes. The United States produces more Geothermal electricity
than any other country in the world. Most hot water geothermal reservoirs are located in
the western states, Alaska, and Hawaii. Geothermal energy is totally renewable as earth
will continue to produce heat as long as we are all are here. If these resources are
tapped and are utilized effectively, they can provide solution to the world’s power
problems.
Geothermal energy produces no pollution, reduces our alliance on fossil fuels. It also
results in significant cost savings as no fuel is required to harness energy from beneath
the earth. These advantages make geothermal energy as one the best alternative
energy source. But, geothermal has its downsides too. It is suitable to particular region
and cannot be harnessed everywhere. The earth may release some harmful gases
while releasing the heat which may prove adverse from mankind. Also, the areas where
this energy is harnessed are prone to earthquakes and volcanoes. Apart from that,
setting up of geothermal power stations requires huge installation cost. Here are
some pros and cons of geothermal energy.

Hydroelectric Energy
Solar energy is produced by sun and wind energy is produced by moving of winds. The
heat caused by sun drives the wind. The movement of winds is then captured by wind
turbines. Both wind and sun cause water to evaporate. The water vapor then turns into
rain or snow and flows down to sea or oceans through rivers or streams. The energy of
the moving water can then be captured and called as hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric
power stations capture the kinetic energy of moving water and give mechanical energy
to turbines. The moving turbines then convert mechanical energy into electrical energy
through generators. Dams around the world have been built for this purpose only.
Hydropower is the largest producer of alternative energy in the world.
There are different types of hydropower plants. The selection of hydropower plant
depends on many volume and flow of water. Hydropower is renewable, constant,
predictable and controllable source of energy. They emit no greenhouse gases and are
environment friendly. On the negative side, they may cause adverse effect on aquatic
life, reduce flow of water which may affect agriculture, require huge costs to build and
may cause havoc if they get breakdown.

Biomass Energy
This is the process by which an alternative energy is generated through conversion of
biological materials and wastes into forms that can be used as energy sources for
heating, power generation and transportation. Those carbon based substances or
materials converted over a long period of time to fossil fuels are not regarded as
biomass. However, in their original state they are regarded as biomass. This is because
of the separation of the carbon they previously contained from the carbon cycle. This
makes them figure differently affecting carbon dioxide levels in air.
Biomass energy has been around since ancient times when people use to burn wood or
coal to heat their homes or prepare food. Wood still remains the most common source
to produce biomass energy. Apart from wood, the other products that are used to create
biomass energy include crops, plants, landfills, municipal and industrial waste, trees and
agricultural waste. Biomass is renewable source of energy as we would be able to
produce it as long as crops, plants and waste exist. It does not create any greenhouse
gases and is can be easily extracted through the process of combustion. Another
advantage of biomass is that it helps to reduce landfills. Biomass is comparatively
ineffective as compared to fossil fuels. They release methane gases which can be
harmful to the environment. Read more about the advantages and disadvantages of
biomass here.

Ocean Energy
The earth promises many power sources. Just like the geothermal and solar energy,
which have long been used in heating homes and lighting as well when harnessed.
Even in the last century these forms of energy was in use. Due to massive size of
oceans, this energy can be used on much wider scale than other alternative sources of
energy. The waves produced by the ocean and tides that hit the sea shore has
enormous potential in them. If they are harnessed with full capacity they can go a long
way in reducing world’s energy problems. There are 3 ways i.e. Tidal energy, Wave
energy and Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) via whichocean energy can be
harnessed.
Tidal power basically involves using kinetic energy from the incoming and outgoing
tides. The difference in high tides and low tides are also important in this respect. There
is a lot of energy that can be harnessed from waves for use. It is another form of
hydropower. The rise and fall of ocean tides are captured by tidal energy generators
which turn turbines. The movement of turbines is responsible for producing electricity. In
short, tidal energy generator captures the kinetic motion of the tides and converts them
into electrical energy. The main advantage of tidal energy is that it is completely
renewable and are much more predictable than wave energy. Learn more about the
tidal energy here.

Hydrogen Energy
Hydrogen is the most abundant element available on earth but it is rarely alone. Even
water contains two third of hydrogen. It is usually available with other elements and
have to separated before we can make use of it. Hydrogen has tremendous potential
and can be used to power up homes, vehicles and even space rockets. It takes a lot of
energy to separate hydrogen from other elements and therefore it proves to quite
expensive to extract it. Take a close look at hydrogen energy and see how it works.
The main benefit of hydrogen energy is that it is clean source of fuel and does not leave
any waste elements behind except water. There are no harmful emissions and is
environment friendly. It is completely renewable and can be produced over and over
again on demand. Hydrogen can also be used to make bombs like the ones used by
America on Hiroshima and Nagasaki which makes it highly inflammable. Dependency
on fossil fuels still remains as we need them to extract hydrogen from other elements.
Also, it is quite expensive to produce and store.
These are some of the alternative energy sources that can be taken into consideration
when planning your energy production and usage. You can harness any of these and
you will satisfy your power needs.
References:
http://environment.about.com/od/renewableenergy/tp/renew_energy.htm
http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/alternative-energy-sources-work-
2698.html
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/tech/home