The End of the World As You Know It (Thinking Politically) (Energy Consumption on the Rise) (Report‪)‬

Energy of all sorts was once hugely abundant, making possible the worldwide economic expansion of the past six decades. This expansion benefited the United States above all--along with its "First World" allies in Europe and the Pacific. Recently, however, a select group of former "Third World" countries--China and India in particular--have sought to participate in this energy bonanza by industrializing their economies and selling a wide range of goods to international markets. This, in turn, has led to an unprecedented spurt in global energy consumption--a 47% rise in the past 20 years alone, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). An increase of this sort would not be a matter of deep anxiety if the world's primary energy suppliers were capable of producing the needed additional fuels. Instead, we face a frightening reality: a marked slowdown in the expansion of global energy supplies just as demand rises precipitously. These supplies are not exactly disappearing--though that will occur sooner or later--but they are not growing fast enough to satisfy soaring global demand.