If we sat down and came up with a list of the biggest game-changers in history, I think we would all agree that energy and the advancements in its uses through the years would be at or near the top of the list.
We could go all the way back to the use of fire as man’s first attempt to harness natural resources to make a better life. The use of boiling water to produce mechanical motion goes back more than 2,000 years, and the initial steam engine became critical to industry and transportation about 300 years ago. Heck, man even made it to the moon thanks to energy.
There is no doubt that energy enables much of modern life. It’s scary to imagine how different our lives would be without the energy to power our homes, appliances, cars, phones, computers, airplanes, industry and so on. Most of us in developed nations take these things for granted, but in many parts of the world, modern energy applications are just now beginning to see the same widespread use. Global economic development is changing the game again, and quite simply, the world needs to find more energy to keep up.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Association, total world energy consumption will increase more than 52% from 2008 to 2035. The vast majority of this growth will come in developing nations, where demand is expected to double. But here’s what’s most surprising:
Even in 2035, almost a quarter of a century from now, roughly three-quarters of the world’s energy needs are still expected to be met through the same old sources of oil, natural gas and coal — all of which have limited resources. Yes, renewable energy, nuclear power and other alternatives will grow, but not enough to become primary producers of energy.
So how the heck will this demand be met? We can’t just run out of energy.
If we won’t have new sources of energy, we have to do a better with the old ones — and that’s where the game is already changing. Now, technological advancements allow us to get to old sources of energy brand new in ways.
Enter the newest old fossil fuel, shale (natural) gas.