Global Energy Crisis

   Global Energy Crisis

The growth of human being has travelled a long journey. It was the greatest achievement of primitive man when he discovered fire with the help of a stone. With this human history moved very fast.

Later on a number discoveries and inventions were made which changed human life completely. Energy is such a great invention which made our life more and more comfortable. It has become most needed necessity for us. It has created a crisis also.

In the industrially advanced world of today, the demand for energy is increasing day by day. We have machines and factories, we have buses, cars, trains and planes, we have ships and sub marines.

Energy is needed to run them. But this is not all. Man is hankering for a cosy and comfortable life. Hence he has become a little but lazy. He does not like even to wind his watch. So, energy is being used for running clocks and watches, typewriters, shaving razors and many more things. It seems as if everything will be paralysed if there is no energy.

Wood, later on coal was the first source of energy then came oil and passing through the stage of atomic energy, man is now looking forward to solar energy.

We are naturally anxious to think about our future because we know the bitter truth that a day will ultimately come when we have no more coal or oil. It will mean energy crisis, for which we ourselves are responsible. People who have made careful calculation feel that at present level of exploitation, the coal deposit will last till 2080 and it is also true that poor quality coal with the carbon content of 40 percent only, is not condusive for electricity generation.

It is also very difficult to harness the uneven distribution of coal. Hence man is on look out for other sources of energy. Our present hope seems to rest on nuclear power Nuclear energy can be obtained both through fusion and fusion processes. An enormous amount of energy is released from small quantity of fuel in both these processes. But we

Must be aware of the fact that nuclear power is full of risks the use of nuclear energy gives rise to pollutants and hence pollutes our environment. Infact the pollution caused by the use of nuclear energy from fission process is much more damaging than the pollution caused by burning forssil fuels. The dangerous nuclear radiations can damage and cause irreparable damage to cells and in some cases even lead to death.

The world is thus faced with serious energy crisis. The condition of India is no better. With growing population the demand for energy is increasing day by day. Since India has limited coal and oil reserve and power generation from coal and oil is also very costly, therefore the government is taking steps to supply energy for non-commercial purposes from various sources such as bio-gas.

Scientists all over the world are trying to meet the challenge. They are trying to harness solar, water, and air reserves. Hydro-electric power is cheaper, so are air mills. Solar energy too has bright hopes for man. However it is very expensive to establish the necessary infrastructure for tapping solar energy. Giant discs are made to concentrate the sunlight on the thermal generators which use this sunlight to produce energy. Thus all possible efforts will have to make to save us from total darkness.

Global Oil Crisis

In today's world, mineral oil has a very important place in the industrial development. Highly industrialised countries have greater need for oil. The distribution of oil is highly uneven. About 50 - 60% of the world's oil deposits are in southwest and Southeast Asian countries. They are the world's largest producers but low exporters of oil. The increasing demand has led to rise in oil prices affecting the economy and industrial development of the developing countries. Countries like USA, Russia, etc. have large deposits of oil, but they import oil to conserve their own resources. These countries have tried their best to gain monopoly over the purchase of oil. This has created tension in international politics. The importance of oil is both in times of war (Arab-Israel conflict) and peace. Of all the sources of power like coal, water/hydel power, nuclear energy, mineral oil is still the cheapest and can be easily transported. It is the only fuel used in aeroplanes (ATF). Thus, the energy crisis is due to-

(i) Increased consumption of oil.

(ii) It is non-replenishable, exhaust able.

(iii) It is indispensable.

(iv) Other resources of power cannot replace it in certain fields like aeroplanes.

(v) Atomic energy is not fully developed.

If a proper substitute is not found, the economic and social structure of modern life will come to a standstill.