Energy Crisis - Bicycle-powered TV sets… [Final]

Justine Rae M. Guinto
ABCA

”An energy crisis occurs when prices rise in the supply of energy resources to a community, society or country. It most commonly refers to the shortage of oil and other natural resources. It may be referred to as an oil crisis, petroleum crisis, energy shortage, electricity shortage or electricity crisis.” (www.wikipedia.com)

The current problem with energy crisis today: prices keep on rising like a loaf of bread.

The cost of gasoline (petrol) and other oil products are teetering sky-high. People find it hard to control. Back in the day you could pay a small amount of money and still get almost a full tank; pay the same amount today and you get less than half. Other difficulties arising from the energy crisis is the environmental perils it causes due to our constant reliance on fossil fuels. Here’s hoping that a real Wall-E will be created by the time this happens.

Causes of energy crisis are numerous: one of this is over-consumption. The current population of earth is growing and growing, and with that many number of people, there will be more demands for energy. The more demands for energy there is, the more people rely on getting more and more, hence the rise of gasoline and oil prices.

As well as the upheaval of prices, it also affects the social, political and economic aspects of either the community, society or even the whole country. Conflicts over energy access are sure to happen, because all will surely want to play for keeps. The coming years could be marked by frequent resource wars as more countries try to top each other for control of the world’s hydrocarbons.

“Three such vectors, in particular, demand attention: a slowing in the growth of energy supplies at a time of accelerating worldwide demand; rising political instability provoked by geopolitical competition for those supplies; and mounting environmental woes produced by our continuing addiction to oil, natural gas, and coal.” (Klare, 2006)

Some of the effects of energy crisis are the reduction in number of businesses which are dependant on gasoline to be able to operate. Since people spend so much on fuel, they have less money for other things. This means they cannot spend money on consumer goods, restaurants, entertainment which are all seeing less traffic but earning less money. It also produces devastating results for other stores who do not sell on the internet, like eBay or Amazon do. More and more people buy their things online rather than paying for gas to drive to the mall. The newest fashion trend is just about a double-click and two scrolls away.

When it comes to gasoline and cars, why not rig every vehicle sold in the country to be flex-fuel compatible so that it can run on just about any blend of hydrocarbon-based fuels—like gasoline, ethanol, methanol, etc? Technology for this already exists, and the process is remarkably cheap.

Improving technology could also be of great help. We need a good alternative to fossil fuels; for example, like harnessing vast amounts of solar power. We also need green buildings that demand less energy for heating and cooling, and automobiles that get vastly more miles per gallon. If your workplace is not that far from home, why not use a car powered by an electric battery? Although it is much slower than your average car (which requires gas), it nevertheless proves to last longer than the latter. Watch Mythbusters if you want any more proof.

In our small community, some of us have purchased a product called the Superkalan. Basically, it’s just your average ihawan (which, of course, you have to operate the outside the house lest you want it to be full off and smell like smoke). But with the all the commotion of the continuing rise of gas prices (for the stove), we have decided to resort to what Mother Nature still has to offer, just like in the good old days. Instead of using the gas stove to cook meals 24/7, we now use this instead (except in the morning and other special occasions that need quick cooking). We also use wood for fuel instead of your usual coal. It is a great means of using up the spare wood lying around after a storm and saving money because of our lessening need for the gas needed for our stove. Saves nature, saves money.

Take a break from reality and just imagine how great it would be if people take action and solve the energy crisis.