Looming Global Energy Crisis

The ancient book Balance and Harmony describes knowledge and wisdom this way: Deep knowledge is to be aware of a disturbance before the disturbance occurs. Wisdom is to know the answer to a question before the question is asked.

Are we facing a looming global energy crisis? Based on ancient wisdom, the important questions we must answer include:

1. Is total energy demand really as great as predicted?
2. Will refined crude products be able to keep up with demand?
3. Can non-conventional sources maintain their current share of supply?
4. What will happen to the price of crude oil?
5. How will the rest of the world react to higher prices and limited power?
6. How can the United States reduce its’ energy dependence?
7. How can conventional and non-conventional sources of energy overcome the critical shortages in resources and equipment?
8. Is it wise for America to assume that private industry can solve the problem they created?

• These points are addressed in my presidential position paper. Clear here to read.

Click here to listen to my radio program. This is part one, there are four parts listed on my site.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, we cannot evaluate energy-industry decisions in isolation from other industries, raw materials, nations or the combined systemic needs. But many energy forecasters, including the Energy Information Agency (EIA), are doing just this. The result is an EIA Outlook that ignores the systemic pressures of what happens when everyone is vying for the last available welder, shipyard, carbon steel pipe, acre of farmable land, available crane or gallon of water.

Conventional wisdom will not show us the way out of this problem. It is helpful to call upon the wisdom of the late Albert Einstein, who once said, “We cannot solve problems using the same kind of thinking that created them.”