ABSTRACT
During the last 100 years, we have created a global warming time bomb while nearly exhausting our energy reserves. The population of the planet and the global energy consumption both quadrupled, and the global gross world product (GWP) increased sixfold. We treat the atmosphere, the rivers, and the ocean as “open sewers” while consuming 5.5 billion tons of coal, 33 billion barrels of oil, and 100 trillion cubic foot of natural gas every year. The total yearly electricity consumption is 15 trillion kWh and that is also estimated to triple during the next 50 years. While nuclear warheads will not increase our energy reserves, there are enough in storage to destroy the planet 25 times over, and now the arms race is also expanding into space. In 2008 the total global GWP was about $68 billion, the GDP (gross domestic product) of the United States was about $15 trillion and her military budget for 2009 exceeds that for Social Security. The public believes that the main problems we face are the economy and the wars without realizing that both are the result of the energy crisis.
