Ours is the age of energy. Compared to our ancestors of only five generations ago, each of us today can demand a thousand times as much energy. When you switch on an air conditioner, the equivalent energy output of ten people working full-tilt travels through electrical wires from a power station a hundred miles away. The engine of a moderate-sized new car generates 150 horsepower—the equivalent energy output of 150 horses running full-speed! Modern energy use is clean, quiet, and simple. Compare turning the ignition key and pushing the gas pedal to having to connect, feed, and clean up after 150 horses every time you needed to travel. Today's emerging energy technologies may transform tomorrow's cars to use diesel fuel from bio-engineered algae, electricity from solar cells, or hydrogen fuel from water.
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Computers, electric lights, and cars are all energy-intensive technologies. The rising human standard of living goes hand-in-hand with a steady increase in available energy per person. Where does it end? The total energy in the universe is the same today as it has always been; energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form into another. Why then are we worried about energy running out? Modern technology is heavily reliant on chemical energy in the form of gas, oil, and coal for transportation, heat, and electricity that is the life-blood of the modern world. In recent years we have recognized that energy conversion from fossil fuels has undesirable side-effects—the release of enormous quantities of carbon dioxide that impact the Earth's climate. Energy isn't scarce; it's that specific forms of energy are limited and some have troubling ecological impacts.
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