Jack Gerard
Jane Van Ryan
Looking ahead to the future, there's no doubt that we'll need more energy in the United States and around the world. Given expected global economic and population growth, time and again economists have said that energy efficiency improvements alone will not be enough to meet this future demand.
With this in mind, can you answer this question?
According to 2008 government projections, about what percent of global energy demand in 2030 will be met by fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas and coal?
Test your Energy IQ to answer this question and others, and watch the video below to see what other people thought about the role of fossil fuels in future energy demand.
It's important to note that in the survey, only 10 percent of respondents answered correctly, acknowledging that fossil fuels will meet 85 percent of this demand. So while Americans understand that we need more energy to grow our economy, they continue to underestimate the amount of oil and natural gas we'll need in years to come.
Check back tomorrow for another question to test your energy knowledge.
We've put off alternative technologies for too long. The energy crisis of the 70's wasn't enough to take action, since the oil lobby was strong enough to hold back competition. What we need now is not more drilling, but more creativity and higher taxes to cover the cost of R&D. We can only remain slaves to fossil fuels for so long before it destroys our capability to effect serious change.
Hello, labatt, and thank you for commenting on the Energy Tomorrow Blog. I’d like to offer a couple of observations in response to your comments. First, the government, universities and the oil and natural gas industry have invested billions of dollars in energy R&D. To date, however, no one has been able to produce an alternative energy source that can be made available in a large enough quantity to replace oil. Oil contains more energy than any other energy resource, plus it is versatile, portable, and affordable. As soon as a better energy resource is discovered or produced, society will transition to it just as it moved from wood to charcoal, then to coal and whale oil, and finally to oil.
Also, I don’t agree that we are “slaves” to oil. History shows that consumers recognized oil’s value and chose to use it as their primary energy resource because of its benefits to their lives.
API believes this country needs a full range of energy resources, including solar, wind, geothermal, biofuels and other alternatives—as well as oil and natural gas. However, since transportation requires an abundant liquid fuel, the U.S. government projects that oil will be needed for cars and trucks for many years into the future. For that reason, this country needs to continue to drill for oil until the fleet can be powered by a different fuel.
I hope you’ll continue to read and comment on our blog posts. We hope to encourage an open dialogue about energy on this blog. Thanks again for your comments.