The Necessity of Sustainable Energy in the 21st Century

The Necessity of Sustainable Energy in the 21st Century

Professor Kerry H. CookDepartment of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Thanks to Rick Anthes of UCAR

City Lights from Space

Humans have transformed the earth over the last century

Glacier National Park

… in 2000

… in 1911

Mountain glacier are in retreat worldwide

Satellite Views of the Arctic

… in 1979 … in 2003

High latitude sea ice may be melting

The chemical composition of the atmosphere is changing.

Source: Mauna Loa Observatory, NOAA.

Global Temperatures have risen by 1°F

Source: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Sciences

The observed changes in the atmosphere’s composition are rapid and unprecedented in human history.

Global Ozone

Source: Environment Canada

The Antarctic Ozone Hole

Marland, G., T.A. Boden, and R. J. Andres. 2003. Global, Regional, and National CO2 Emissions. In Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Carbon

Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A.

Carbon Emissions

Fundamental Driver: Increasing population. Is Earth reaching its carrying capacity?

Increasing populations stress energy systems, and put more people in harm’s way.

Hurricane Ivan 9/15/04

Mozambique 2001

Bangladesh 1998

What we do in our generation will determine What we do in our generation will determine the destiny of life on our planetthe destiny of life on our planet

Balancing the gains of development against the detrimental effects of growth on the natural environment is an ongoing challenge for countries around the world. One of the most difficult elements of this dilemma is managing energy. Energy is crucial to all aspects of development, yet the impact of its production, distribution and use grows more severe with every decade.

Some cleaner and more renewable energy technologies are being developed and implemented, but the rise in global energy consumption outweighs the economic and environmental benefits of these improvements.

Population growth, and the growing number of

people without access to a basic energy supply, predicates a rapid growth in demand in the coming years.

The challenge lies in finding a way to reconcile the necessity and demand for energy supply with its impact on the natural resource base in order to ensure a sustainable path of development.