What Have We Done?

meant when the term ‘renewable energy’ is misleadingly used.

It is common to talk in terms of energy as though it exists in isolation. In fact most discussions of energy in the business world treat it as a commodity. This can also be misleading, as energy is an attribute of materials except when it is insolation (sunshine). It is the waste material that causes pollution from an energy process (like coal combustion that produces a number of greenhouse gases plus particulate matter and slag). The energy itself ends up as waste heat when used that does little harm. There is appreciable talk about ‘clean energy’ production methods. That is shorthand for using methods where attempts are made to remove the waste material from the process. And, of course, energy is not ‘produced’. That word conveys the wrong impression again. It gives the impression that it is within the powers of humans to produce it. Using, for example, the chemical energy in coal producing steam to drive a turbine generates electrical energy. Or it can be generated by the kinetic energy in winds turning a turbine. In all these cases, there is a transformation of one form of energy to another with the ultimate destiny of being waste heat. You might feel that I am pedantic about this terminology. You might believe that most people do understand what is being referred to when these misleading terms are used. If you believe that, think through what politicians, business people and the media are saying about the subject. They give the impression that energy is inexhaustible. That is not so. Modern civilization is built on the cheap energy obtained from the fossil fuels.

Now on to my view of what has happened. Many speculate on why human society has so wantonly used natural resources for its exuberant purposes, without considering the legacy they are leaving future generations – do without – and what they are doing to their life support system. We humans, a single species among millions, consume about forty percent of Earth’s primary productivity, forty percent of all there is. Greedy lot, are we not? Basically we do this because we have been conditioned to believe that money is the deciding factor on what can be done. We would all like to be wealthy, even though it gives us more capability to consume irreplaceable natural resources. It was and still is the grand delusion. Money is an abstraction we invented. We cannot eat or drink money. We cannot use it as a fuel for our cars and planes. It is not a building material. Everything we do and use really does require the consumption of natural resources and the use of natural services. And we do not pay for that. Think about that. Even listening to music requires prior consumption of food and drink, courtesy of natural production systems even if abetted by human assistance using up energy resources. And we take it for granted that we are able to breathe as we listen to the music. Money can buy you goods and services only so long as nature can continue to supply the energy and material. And some, like oil globally and water in many regions, are becoming scarce. It really is quite ironical. We know that time passes irreversibly. We are aware of our own mortality in spite of wishful thinking. Yet we collectively ignore the fact that we are using up many natural resources irreversibly. We would not spend our own capital thoughtlessly yet we deem it permissible to draw down on global natural capital. That is a much more serious matter as it affects everyone.

Some of the natural resources we use, like the air we breathe, are naturally recycling, albeit contaminated by the pollution our industries produce. It is one of the wonders of nature that photosynthesis in plants provides the supply of oxygen essential to our existence. We, with the other animals, reciprocate by providing some of the carbon dioxide the plants need to grow. We think so little of this natural wonder that we cut down the forests that largely drive this process so we can produce junk mail.

We also provide a surplus of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels to power our cars to save us from walking or riding. Gaia is showing a very limited ability to absorb this surplus of carbon dioxide. The oceans are absorbing some but this is affecting marine life. Many people are devastated by the prospect of the Great Barrier Reef dying. Yet these same people drive their cars or fly so they can enjoy this tourist delight – whilst it remains. The atmosphere also gives signs of being unable to cope. There are clear signs that the global climate is changing largely because of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that we put there. The reduction of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is just one sign amongst a multitude that are worrying climatologists – and thinking people. The indigenous people are often the most aware of what is happening. Some people, however,

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