It’s sunlight
I think one of the problems with conceptualizing the problem of our reliance on carbon-heavy fossil fuels is that they are rather abstract concepts. What is oil? What is coal?
Of course, we all know what oil and coal are. Most of us even know where they come from. But I would wager that relatively few of us stop to think about how they are formed. Instead, we think about them merely as energy sources, detached from their root source.
To help with our conceptualizing of fossil fuels and their source, I propose a handy aide: fossil fuel is sunlight!
As the reader will recall, all fossil fuels start their life as plant matter. And since all plant matter derives its energy from sunlight, it’s appropriate to say that the plant is merely a holding vessel for this solar energy. Plants are pretty nifty in that they convert diffuse solar energy into useful (and often delicious) carbon energy. This energy is passed up the food chain as animals eat plants, then eat each other. Alternately, we can release this energy directly by burning the plant material. Regardless of how we use the plants, the result is the same: solar energy is converted into a usable form of energy.
The reason fossil fuels are so tricky is that the represent stored solar energy from millions of years ago. Think of these fuels like a time machine capable of transporting prehistoric sunlight. (A misconstruction to be sure, but here me out.) In this light, it’s almost poetic that excessive reliance on fossil fuels is causing a shift in global climate. We’ve greatly increased the amount of energy in play by digging up long-dead plant matter and burning it.
This time-machine-sunlight concept is also a frightening reminder to our looming energy predicament. The Western world is still pretending that alternate fuels will simply step in for oil and coal without so much as a hiccup. Problem is, green energy by its very nature relies on contemporary solar energy, which is rather diffuse. The energy equation changes greatly when we’re forced to live within our means and not rely on ancient sunlight.
Filed under climate change, energy : Comments (2) : May 23rd, 2007 by tadfad
May 31st, 2007 at 10:14
Tad, thanks for this post. I for one enjoy your longer essay-style posts immensely.
May 31st, 2007 at 21:19
Thanks Mike. I’m going to try to get back on that bandwagon, with a goal of 4 per week. Seems like a good compromise. (Thanks Xandra.)