Energy Supply and Demand and Future Growth - Essay Example

of the 26 April, Energy Supply and Demand and Future Growth Energy has made the powerful man become what he is today. History tells us that the use of energy has been known to man since he learnt to cook food and warm shelters and he, ultimately, did learn that he can not prosper without energy. With the passage of time, man continually became more and more educated and civilized and his demand for energy kept growing with him. Consequently, in order to meet his ever increasing demand for energy man has continually been striving and discovering ways to balance his demand with energy supply. Thus, as mankind we entered the 21st century and the problem of demand and supply of energy entered the millennium with us. This paper, thus, gives an account of the global energy market and its growth in terms of demand and supply. History of energy use explosion since the industrial revolution Over the history, man discovered several forms of energy to harness its power and streamline his own life. Thus, around 1200 BC, the people of Polynesia had learnt the use of wind energy to boat their sails. Similarly, around 500 years ago magnetic energy was discovered in China and was used for navigation purpose and to pull iron objects. Likewise, electric energy was discovered around 2500 years ago by a Greek Philosopher, Thales. In the same way, China found coal as fuel around 1000 years ago and then introduced it to the western world (Thinkquest.com). As the time passed, the stature of man grew in terms of his knowledge, abilities, innovation and above all his want for more and the result was a big materialistic push in human life which we know as the industrial revolution. The revolution did not take place without extensive and careless use of energy producing resources and, ultimately, a time came when there were only a few trees were left in the great Britain due to overcutting (greenfacts.org). As a result, there began a use of other types of energy including the use of coal, oil and gas, which finally stretched to the present day varied energy sources like electricity and nuclear energy etc (scienceclarified.com). In the wake of the revolution, many developments took place in the use of energy as a powerful means to the gush of industrialization which resulted in great changes in the lives of people al around the world. Agriculture, for instance, began to shift from the use of muscle power and animals to machines. Similarly, with the invention of steam energy, a race began for bigger and faster machines meant to provide transportation to people and animals which resulted in massive use of coal until the twentieth century. The use of coal was then had to be substituted with the use of oil and gas as soon as the internal combustion engine and the automobile were invented. As the technology improved, the automobiles became attuned to use lesser fuel and produce lesser pollution. Finally, the use of oil and gas continues in the manufacturing and power production sectors right through the 21st century (scienceclarified.com). Even in the present day world the use of all types of energy is increasing at a fast pace. However, the resources to produce them are steadily being depleted. Moreover, the use of technology and energy has surpassed the industrial sectors to homes and extensive use of energy takes place everyday and everywhere in the entire world. Consequently, there is a perpetual rise in the demand of energy around the globe and the efforts of the suppliers of energy to meet the energy demanded (Greenfacts.org). The equilibrium between the supply and demand The demand for energy is growing all across the globe as the use of energy has transformed the lives of people both directly from the use of energy at homes and also indirectly through the bliss of improved technology and advancing industrialization (greenfacts.org). Researchers claim that the increased use of energy has resulted in poverty elevation and better living standards in the developing world (Tillerson). As a result, the industrialized as well as the developing countries of the world now find a lot of good in the continued and increased use of energy (Tillerson; greenfacts.org). Energy, we can thus claim, has played an important role in the historic growth of the world and the world economy has grown around 50%. Thus the increase in demand for energy as a fundamental need of life is not surprising. In fact, energy is needed to sustain the economic growth of the world, elevate poverty, improving life standards etc. consequently, the energy requirements of the world are estimated to grow by 30% until 2030 (Tillerson). To augment the argument further, consider the rising prices of energy which are a clear indication of its swelling demand. Several factors have the tendency to affect the demand for energy. Geographical economic growth, First of all, is an important variable in this regard. Thus, most of the demand for energy in the future is, specifically, expected to come from the fast growing Asian countries especially China and India. As a matter of fact, in the developing countries of Asia, the demand for the energy is projected to grow by 3.7% per annum. Furthermore, the demand fro energy is expected to double in the nest 20 years, at a rate far greater than the developed countries. Therefore, Asia becomes the focal point of the energy shortfall (greenfacts.org). Secondly, the fluctuations in the oil prices results in demand shocks which have direct impact on the economic activity throughout the world (Brown). Thirdly, the global warming issue is also said to have an increasing impact on the increasing demand for energy (IEA 2009, 14). In addition to the above, the population of the world is increasing and so is the expectation of increase in the wealth yet there are no considerable technological improvements to minimize the use of energy. Finally, the technological advance is increasing, on almost daily basis, the number of devices, equipments and machinery which utilize the already pressurized resources of energy (energyinsights.net). Fatefully, the corresponding rise in the supply of energy through the non-renewable resources failed to increase in line with the swelling demand which adversely affected the equilibrium in the energy market (Brown). In order to re-create the balance in the energy market, one of two scenarios must have to take place: reduction in the demand for energy and discovery of alternative energy sources and both did take place. The reliance on the non-renewable energy, At first, dampened in the total percentage demand for energy since the surge in the demand in 1973. The total global use of non-renewable resources of energy, ultimately, has clogged at 2% per annum and this demand, resultantly, has sufficient supply of energy from non-renewable resources. Secondly, beside the fear of energy shortage, the fall in the demand for non-renewable energy has taken place due to the development of energy alternatives especially those from the renewable resources. There is, consequently, newer and better technology for energy production and methods of energy conservation have let us to believe that in the future energy reserve are going to be available in abundance at reasonably affordable prices (Chossudovsky). The supply of World Energy Most of the supply of energy in the world, present, comes from the use of non-renewable sources, especially from oil, coal and gas. Energy from renewable sources, on the other hand, is about 13% only of the total world energy supply; whereas, 10% of the total renewable energy comes from combustible renewable and municipal renewable and the rest from hydro, geothermal, solar, wind and tidal waves energy sources (greenfacts.org). This is because the world non-renewable energy resources are declining and the shortage of energy supply is, hence, becoming a concern. Consequently, the dream of long term economic growth in the world is at stake (Brown). Nature, however, provides an answer to the increasing requirements of energy and for the natural energy resources and thus to the growth concerns relating to energy (Brown). We know that, most of the countries have used up their oil in the course of economic development. They now, as a result, rely on foreign countries and regions to supply; in fact most of the countries in the world are dependent upon remote resources for the supply of renewable energy, the entire world is now looking towards the Middle, OPEC and Russia to provide them oil. Consequently, there are plans underway to lay long and distant pipelines along with shipped LNG in order to import energy. In the same way, coal production is expected to increase and the reliable sources for this form of energy will come from India, Bangladesh, USA and China. Complete reliance on the non-renewable of the world is not only unwise but also disastrous for the economic growth social welfare. Therefore, renewable resources must also be used to meet the rising demand for energy in the world. In consequence, in the sunny countries like Florida, California and Spain solar energy will be harnessed to meet the shortfall in their demand. In the same way, in countries like UK, Denmark, Holland and some windy parts of the U.S.A, strong winds are expected to provide the answer to the question of energy shortfalls (Energyinsights.net). Nature, however, cannot alone be sufficient to meet the global demand for energy. As a result, man-made technology is needed to provide for the remainder of the energy shortage. One of the possibilities, in this regard, is the use of Hydrogen as a source of energy (energyinsight.net). Additionally, nuclear energy supply must increase in countries like Japan and France. To supplement these, use of such devices, machinery and automobile is required that will consume lesser energy efficiently and in environmentally friendly manner (energyinsight.net). Though there are some concerns associated with the depletion of the natural gas reserves in the world as a form of energy, the recent changes regarding the energy markets in the world have, conversely, proved that the concerns are groundless. Hence, it is discovered that there are huge resources of natural gas in the world though finding them is a challenging task. There are, thus, promising developments taking place in the world especially in the renewable energy sector (Chossudovsky). History and future expectations call for increased dependence on renewable resources such as hydro, solar and wind power as well as biomass. As a consequence, countries are trying to find alternative ways to improve their energy supplies in order to meet the surge in demand. Thus, according to United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) the marketed renewable energy is projected to grow by 1.9% (qtd. greenfacts.org). Taking lead, European Union has developed a long-term strategy to increase its consumption of renewable energy to 20% by 2020. Furthermore, the amount of fuel used in the transportation services is projected to increase by 10%. Such improvements are taking place the world over and at present the use of hydropower is also expected to increase soon in the entire world (greenfacts.org). Regionally, the most important markets for energy are going to be the ten ASEAN countries namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam (IEA 2009, 13). These economies together make up an economy as large as Canada and Mexico combined and their population exceeds that of the European Union. Economically, these countries are growing fast in terms of their population and economy with continuing urbanization and industrialization. Such a growth, thus, requires massive energy consumption which is more than that of Middle East in these countries. Moreover, the present energy consumption is growing at 2.5% which is much faster than the rest of the world. Under these circumstances, the world energy demand in the ASEAN countries is expected to increase by 76% up to 2030. Besides ASEAN countries, Indian and Chinese economies are also growing fast. We, thus, come to the conclusion that in the near future the economic centre of energy will be located in Asia. It is, therefore, a challenge for Asia primarily to meet the growing demand for energy in the future in a sustainable manner. Unfortunately, however, these countries own only 1% of the world energy resources and thus must rely on imports. The good news is that these countries have abundant resources to generate energy from renewable resources. This, nevertheless, requires huge investments in energy infrastructure- about $1.1 trillion- in addition to another investment of $390 billion to meet the energy requirements between 2008 and 2030 (14). The future of the energy markets rest entirely on how the world will respond to the global growing needs of energy though the task is very difficult. Implementation of commitment, anyhow, is the key to the solution for countries individually as well globally. Therefore, a large scale action is required to achieve global energy supply targets (14). The use energy has bestowed man with the coziness and contentment of the modern technological world. The comforts and the gains from the ever-improving technology, nonetheless, rest on how the world answers the question of shortfalls in the energy supply. Importantly at first, all the countries need to realize the importance of energy conservation. Secondly, more and more alternative sources must be discovered to provide energy abundantly at the lowest possible cost. Ultimately, the world needs to act collectively to gain the advantages of combined resources, knowledge and technologies. In short however, the future of human development is at stake if the shortage of energy is not tackled wisely. Works Cited Brown, David L. Stuck on the Cycle of Energy Supply and Demand. Star Phoenix Base. 12 June, 2009. 25 April, 2010 Chossudovsky, Michel. The Global Energy Market in the Long term: the Continuing Dominance of Non-renewable Resources. Globalresearch.ca. December, 2004. 25 April, 2010. Energyinsights.net. Energy Supply and Demand. energyisnight.net. n.d. 25 April, 2010 Greenfacts.org. Scientific Facts on Forests and Energy. Greenfacts.org. 2009. 25 April, 2010 Scienceclarified.com. The Development of Energy. Scienceclarified.com. n.d. 25 April 2010 Thinkquest.com. Energy through History. Thinkquest.com. n.d. 25 April 2010 Tillerson, Rex W. Speech: Meeting Global Energy Demand and Supply Challenges. 19th World Petroleum Conference, Madrid Spain. 1 July, 2008. Exomobile.com 25 April 2010 Read More