Energy Sufficiency & Sustainability

The last one year saw several nations thought to be leading economies, struggling to match their energy needs and their economic resources. We also witnessed human waywardness as exhibited in Russia’s war on Ukraine, with millions suffering as they were deprived of energy for cooking, for getting water in their homes, for heating in a harsh winter. The cataclysmic blizzard experienced on the east coast of North America in December 2022 deprived people of energy, leading to tremendous hardships for those used to the comfort of reliable energy.

The petroleum-dependent Europe was in great trouble as the Russia-Ukraine war led to curtailments in the shipping of petroleum, leading to a severe economic and energy crisis in several countries. In short, our modern world tends to be severely dependent on fossil fuels, viz., oil, coal and natural gas — almost 80%, with a gradual increase in bio-fuels, nuclear energy and other sources. But there are also silver linings on the horizon. It is reported that 80% of the car purchases in the polar Norway in 2022 were electric, while an international airport in Kochi, Kerala, is fully run on solar power for the past four years.

This energy-economy equation is the product of Anthropocene development, especially, of the last two centuries, substituting human and animal physical energy to turn the economy around. This, in turn, is dependent on solar energy, which reaches them through food as energy stored. Large vessels carrying goods across the continents were moved by wind energy, supplemented by humans rowing them. The minimum needs of cooking and heating across the continents were also met through the energy trapped in plants and put to use in the form of firewood, and that of lighting, through plant-based oils.

The revolution in the energy-economy scenario came about with the discovery of the utility of fossilised fuel, with coal gaining popularity in the 17th century and petroleum in the second half of the 20th century. With the world becoming increasingly mobile with the invention of automobiles and airplanes and with the discovery of electricity for lighting, heating and all sorts of mechanisation, energy became synonymous with economic development. Today, economic development is almost entirely dependent on the availability of energy. Energy sources also have grown over the centuries — from coal, it migrated to petroleum and natural gas in the 20th century, and then to thermal and nuclear reactors for large scale production of electric energy to supply the growing demands of industrial development. 

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