Two hundred years ago, the world experienced an energy revolution that launched the Indust
rial Age. Ever since then, with the rapid increase of population density, the industrializ
ed world's thirst for energy has more than tripled. Petroleum and natural gas are exploite
d as versatile and high quality energy products. Uranium is also tapped to fuel nuclear re
actors and provide atomic energy.Cheap energy is the lifeblood of human society. But there
is a dark side to the near monopoly of non-renewable fossil fuels like coal, oil and natu
ral gas, along with controversial uranium, to supply our growing energy demands. The suppl
y of these fuels is physically limited, and their use threatens our health and environment
. Multiple international treaties have been proposed to limit the use of fossil fuels for
this very reason. Fears of global warming aside, burning fossil fuels releases chemicals a
nd particulates that can cause breathing problems, cancer as well as brain and nerve damag
e. Nuclear energy, once hailed as "too cheap to meter", has never been economically succes
sful when all costs are factored in. Furthermore, public opinion polls show nuclear energy
is too closely associated with disasters like the Chernobyl reactor meltdown and the Fuku
shima explosion, and with the danger that rebel insurgents could do damage with the toxic
waste. Inexpensive and seemingly abundant non-renewable energy from dead plants and extinc
t animals fueled the 20th century economy, but geologists, climatologists, environmentalis
ts, and many others are warning that the honeymoon may soon be over. At some indefinite ti
me in the near future, the last drop of oil, lump of coal or wisp of natural gas will be c
ollected from the earth. The eventual depletion of fossil fuels that hitherto proved so re
liable has left us with no choice but to prepare for a new age of energy synthesis. Most c
ertainly, human demand for energy will not decrease or plateau but surge as world populati
on grows to nine billion over the next 50 years. By the year 2020, world energy consumptio
n is projected to show a linear increase of 50 percent. How will we meet the sky-rocketing
energy demands of the future? Until we perfect the technology of cold fusion, we'll have
to focus on the development and increased production of energy from renewable energy sourc
e — sun, wind, water, and so on. While renewable energy sources are promising, an internat
ional confederation of scientists and engineers is working feverishly to overcome the vari
ous obstacles associated with these "new energy" technologies. The major challenge is to d
evelop efficient and economically workable versions of these technologies.Take solar energ
y for example. It is a good option because there is an unlimited supply of glittering sunl
ight. Making it work on a large scale, however, is much easier said than done. It would be
cost prohibitive to take the intricate gadgets of solar energy from the fringe of "green"
society to the mainstream for major world consumption. The solar apparatus itself is read
y for many new business and consumer applications, but it is way too expensive to replace
the old combustion machinery of gears and motors with new electronic technology of semicon
ductors and transistors on a global or even a national scale. Wind power, which has been u
sed effectively in some places for generations, is also rapidly growing in the energy mark
et. The principle behind it is that wind converts rotary force into electricity by turning
the blades of the turbine clockwise or counterclockwise around an axis. Unfortunately, wi
nd power is very unreliable and its strength depends on local weather patterns, temperatur
e, time of year, and location. In addition to this unreliability, wind power equipment is
very expensive compared with other energy sources and won't become a viable alternative un
til we can slash the costs significantly. Also, a "wind farm" requires enormous land clear
ing to produce significant amounts of energy.Hydroelectric power is another source of clea
n and renewable energy. It can be harnessed by controlling the natural outflow of water wi
th different methods. The most popular is through dams, which, unfortunately, are no longe
r considered environmentally friendly. Most of the hydroelectric dams in the world are his
torically recent, but all reservoirs eventually will fill up with mud and require very exp
ensive excavation to clear them up to become useful again.Biomass energy derived from plan
t and animal matter is still another renewable source being considered as a standby replac
ement for fossil fuels. Organic waste in the form of dead trees, leaves, animal corpses an
d food processing waste exists in abundance and can be used to produce energy. However, th
ere is no way to ventilate the direct burning of biomass as fuel without diffusing carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases can pose a risk to the
ozone layer, increasing overall exposure of human beings to harmful UV rays from the sun.
Besides, it takes time and money to collect and transport biomass in its raw form to a ce
ntral point for processing into fuel, and the automation of such a process is too difficul
t. So, for the time being, biomass has too many costly drawbacks to be a workable alternat
ive to fossil fuels.Although renewable energies are not yet economically competitive with
fossil fuels, their price becomes more attractive when compared with the health and enviro
nmental costs associated with burning coal and oil. Perhaps the best solution to our growi
ng energy challenges comes in a bulletin from the Union of Concerned Scientists: "Our soci
ety's future success cannot hinge on one single solution. The answer instead must come fro
m a family of diverse energy technologies that share a unified purpose — they do not deple
te our natural resources or destroy our environment." Despite the difficulties, it is impo
rtant to remember that an energy crisis is approaching at supersonic speeds and will soon
be upon us. In order to inaugurate a new era in energy, we must act quickly and work towar
d international collaboration to find the most effective solutions to our energy problems.