What Is An Energy Crisis?

Wikipedia defines an energy crisis to be “any significant bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy.” There are many causes for energy crises, such as overconsumption, aging infrastructure and the lack of energy sources. Energy crises threaten to overturn economies and disrupt livelihoods, and it is exactly because of this that scientists are frantically searching for sustainable energy sources, before it’s too late. Today, I will discuss what an energy crisis entails and how it can be avoided. Before you continue reading, do follow me and subscribe to my newsletter! Without further ado, let’s hop right in!

Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels have become a staple in our daily lives. It is used to power airplanes, cars, trucks and manufacture plastic bags. You could say that the world hasn’t been the same since we discovered the use of fossil fuels. We have become so dependent on it, that if we ran out of fossil fuels, we would be sent right back into the Stone Age. Now as our energy consumption increases due to increasing population and advancing technology, we may soon overtake the rate of energy production and use up our precious fossil fuels. We can see this in the constant rise of oil prices over the years. Thus, the search is on for sources of sustainable energy which can help to supplement, if not replace fossil fuels.

The Effects of Energy Crisis

Imagine your life without electricity, living in a city without lights. There would be no electricity to charge your phones, power your television and elevators. You would be forced to take the stairs up and down everyday in your office. Crime rate would increase as police forces lose access to many of their capabilities. Lives cannot be saved in time as paramedics are no longer able to drive ambulances. You get the idea. Life would stop to a standstill and electricity would be more precious than even gold. However horrifying this might seem, this is what energy crises can do.

Why We Need Sustainable Energy

Unlike fossil fuels, sustainable energy sources can last for an extremely long time, if not forever, in some cases. Fossil fuels, being unsustainable, are expected to last up till another 115 years (Coal is expected to last 115 years, while natural gas and oil are expected to run out in 50 years). After that, it would be millions of years before fossil fuels are naturally regenerated. As you can see, we will run out of fossil fuels very soon. We cannot overly rely on it. That’s when sustainable energy comes in. Sustainable energy can come in many forms, like solar energy, geothermal energy and hydropower. However, work is still underway to implement them and sustainable energy sources still do not produce as much energy as that of fossil fuels.

Here’s How You Can Play A Part

This first thing you can do is to reduce your electric consumption. This can be done simply by turning off the lights when you don’t need them, or turning off the power switch when your phone is fully charged. You could also start to take public transport, which leaves you a lower carbon footprint. More details can be found here: https://bestofwrite.com/2020/12/15/heres-how-you-can-reduce-your-carbon-footprint/

Conclusion

This wraps up my first post for 2021! I hope that this article has given you a greater understanding of the effects and causes of energy crises, and that you have learned something from it. If you did enjoy this article, go consider giving it a like! Remember to subscribe to my newsletter and follow me if you haven’t done so! Stay tuned for my next post!