Energy comes radiating down from our Sun. Through billions of years of trial and error, a natural system has captured this energy and passed it along. Vegetation, through photosynthesis, stores the energy of the Sun into its own fibres. Herbivores eat the vegetation thus acquiring the energy and absorbing it into their own bodies. Carnivores do the same when they eat other animals. This is the environmental system on Earth through which energy flows.
Canada’s Minister of the Environment recently provided some interesting thoughts (1). He said we’d face economic ruin if Canada were to meet its Kyoto targets. Though climate change is a different issue than energy limits, it shares much the same basic problem. That is, the environment is unable to accommodate people’s actions.
There is a deeper philosophical issue to the Minister’s comment. Effectively he’s asking people if they are willing to radically change their lifestyles, lower their standard of living, to help the environment. It’s a fair question from a politician. Looking around, the answer seems to be, “No”. However, if people are unwilling to change their lifestyles to protect the air they breath, what will they do when the energy supplies crash and demand outstrips supply. This is the future we are moving towards and we will need some capable leaders to get us through.
(1) Minister Comment
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