1 - 1 of 1 results for: THINK 39: Energy? Understanding the Challenge, Developing Solutions

How much energy do we need to run the world and what energy resources can we use? How do we convert those resources into energy services? What are the economic, environmental, and security costs of energy services? How will energy markets address the challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emission? Energy is the lifeblood of human societies. Energy use is intricately woven through the fabric of the productive (and comfortable) lives we live in the developed world. We use energy to move and sometimes make fresh water, grow food, transport it to markets, heat, cool, and light our dwellings and workplaces, communicate and compute, and travel the world. We worry about energy security and fret about the cost of gasoline. And as world population continues to grow and the developing world seeks to use energy for the services we enjoy, the challenge of supplying the energy the world needs will grow commensurately. Energy is also a primary way human activities interact with global air, water, and biological systems that provide essential services to us and the planet. Balancing our interactions with those systems will require dramatic changes to the world¿s energy systems in the decades to come. This course examines the energy challenges, opportunities, and choices that lie ahead.