14 DAY TRIAL // The rate at which fossil fuel is currently consumed is mind-numbing. Out of the 500 quadrillion BTUs of energy all nations consume, more than 85 percent, namely 430 quadrillion BTUs, are obtained from oil (40 percent), coal (22 percent) and natural gases (24 percent). Renewable sources of energy plus nuclear plants only account for 14 percent of the amount of energy that is being used on the planet today.
It shouldn't come as a shock to anyone that, given the enormous quantities of fossil fuel extracted, they will eventually run out and be depleted. This prospect is not yet upon us, resource economists say. It could be as much as three or four decades before the effects of the shortage begin to show. But by then, environmentalists say, it may be too late to save the environment. The current levels of pollution are already too elevated as it is, but further adding and increasing chemical emissions into the atmosphere could accelerate the process of global warming even further.
Dr. Peter McCabe, a renowned scientist at CSIRO in Australia, says that, unless people are able to coordinate a full effort to save the environment, the leaders of all nations are less likely to undergo such a task, especially given the fact that the worldwide energy supply is not in any immediate danger. He says that the situation would have been different had the deadline for fuel depletion been closer to the present day. Due to the time frame the nations are presented with, it is less likely for them to try to rid themselves of their dependency on fossil fuels within the next decade.
Environmentalists keep emphasizing the importance of a carefully-devised, long-term battle plan aimed at counteracting the effects of pollution and to also find new means of generating electric power, besides oil and gases. With renewable energy sources currently at just 6% of the total energy output, it's highly unlikely that they could be refined to such a degree that they would be able to supply all power requirements worldwide. That's why it's so important to start working on them now, before time runs out and the world finds itself in a global black-out.