Engineers of today play a very important role in modern civilization. The problems faced by today’s world require the expertise and knowledge of engineers. As a result, engineers are challenged to overcome these problems. The problem that challenges engineers the most would be the long term sustainability of energy.
Energy is what drives the world. As we all know, oil, which is derived from fossil fuel, is a non-renewable energy source. Oil is the primary source of energy in the entire world. As people become more affluent and countries becoming more developed and industrialised, the demand for oil has increased greatly over the past few years.
Recently, countries all over the world are plagued with the problem of rising oil cost. The rising demand for oil has caused oil suppliers all over the world to increase the price of crude oil. Consumers have to find various means of coping with this phenomenon, such as using alternative fuel. There are those that vent their dissatisfaction with rising oil cost on by rioting on the streets. From the current global situation, one can see that the sustainability of affordable energy as an essential factor in promoting peace and stability among people in a country as well as desirable economic growth.
The increased usage of oil has led to increased levels of pollution. Air quality tests conducted by environmental firms indicate that the amount of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases emitted to the atmosphere have increased over the years. This in turn contributed to global warming. The effects of global warming have a negative impact on the health of many people around the world.
In conclusion, engineers will continue to play an important role in the aspect of sustainability of energy. With projected increase in oil consumption many years ahead, one cannot predict when fossil fuels will eventually run out. No one will also be able to tell what impact of the current oil crisis will have on the global economy. Thus, this will be the challenge of the 21st century where engineers step in and contribute new ideas and clean technology to solve the current environmental and economic problems to ease the heavy reliance on fossil fuels. Instead, the focus should be on the reliance of alternative fuel sources to overcome the long term issue on the sustainability of energy.
