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Preface
The need for energy at both the individual level and the societal level is essential
and rapidly growing. Throughout the history of the human race, man has found the
sources of energy to make life more comfortable, convenient, and progressive. Energy
is needed for all walks of life including industrial growth, transportation, manufacturing of products, and improvement of the quality of life. The modernization of society,
increase in industrial productivity, increase in population, and man’s constant desire
for freedom to travel all contribute to the increasing demands on energy.
Fundamentally, there are 10 known sources of energy and fuel: oil, gas, solid
fuels such as coal, oil shale, and bitumen (commonly known as solid fossil fuels),
uranium (or nuclear), biomass, waste, solar, wind, geothermal, and water. Over the
years, once the new sources of energy are discovered and harnessed, they have to
compete for their share of the market. The demand for any given source of energy
and fuel has gone up and down depending on the supply, competitive price, usability, and its influence to the environment. For example, in the 1800s, the source of
energy (largely for heating and cooling) was biomass because oil, gas, coal, and
uranium had not been discovered and the technologies to harness and use other
sources of energy and fuels had not been developed. Over the years that followed,
the percentage use of biomass steadily declined because of the availability, the
need for use, and the pricing structure of other sources of energy and fuels. Over
the past 100 years, our society and economy have been predominantly fossil fuel
based.
The sources of energy and fuels have always been challenged by the need for
better environment and economics. This is also a challenge for the development of
new energy technologies. One source of energy and fuel cannot replace the other
unless there are strong arguments based on the environment, economics, usability,
and improvement of the quality of life. Often these forces compete with each other,
and then local politics and social acceptance make the final decisions. One example
is the recent rapid change in the use of renewable energy in favor of fossil energy
due to a well-accepted notion that fossil energy, in general, affects our environment
in more negative ways than the effects of renewable energies. This has led to the
so-called green energy revolution. Even within fossil energy sources, it is generally
believed that natural gas is less harmful to the environment than coal. This, along
with changing supplies of gas, has led to the installation of more gas-driven power
plants than those using coal. In our history, the changes in the sources of energy and
fuels have been gradual because most technological developments in energy industries have been evolutionary and not revolutionary in their impacts.
Out of all sources of energy and fuels, one source that is most abundant, most
green, most compatible with all other sources of energy and fuels, and most acceptable to the environmentalists is water. Nearly four-fifths of the world is surrounded
by water. Water is everywhere underground and closely tied to the development of
Preface
The need for energy at both the individual level and the societal level is essential
and rapidly growing. Throughout the history of the human race, man has found the
sources of energy to make life more comfortable, convenient, and progressive. Energy
is needed for all walks of life including industrial growth, transportation, manufacturing of products, and improvement of the quality of life. The modernization of society,
increase in industrial productivity, increase in population, and man’s constant desire
for freedom to travel all contribute to the increasing demands on energy.
Fundamentally, there are 10 known sources of energy and fuel: oil, gas, solid
fuels such as coal, oil shale, and bitumen (commonly known as solid fossil fuels),
uranium (or nuclear), biomass, waste, solar, wind, geothermal, and water. Over the
years, once the new sources of energy are discovered and harnessed, they have to
compete for their share of the market. The demand for any given source of energy
and fuel has gone up and down depending on the supply, competitive price, usability, and its influence to the environment. For example, in the 1800s, the source of
energy (largely for heating and cooling) was biomass because oil, gas, coal, and
uranium had not been discovered and the technologies to harness and use other
sources of energy and fuels had not been developed. Over the years that followed,
the percentage use of biomass steadily declined because of the availability, the
need for use, and the pricing structure of other sources of energy and fuels. Over
the past 100 years, our society and economy have been predominantly fossil fuel
based.
The sources of energy and fuels have always been challenged by the need for
better environment and economics. This is also a challenge for the development of
new energy technologies. One source of energy and fuel cannot replace the other
unless there are strong arguments based on the environment, economics, usability,
and improvement of the quality of life. Often these forces compete with each other,
and then local politics and social acceptance make the final decisions. One example
is the recent rapid change in the use of renewable energy in favor of fossil energy
due to a well-accepted notion that fossil energy, in general, affects our environment
in more negative ways than the effects of renewable energies. This has led to the
so-called green energy revolution. Even within fossil energy sources, it is generally
believed that natural gas is less harmful to the environment than coal. This, along
with changing supplies of gas, has led to the installation of more gas-driven power
plants than those using coal. In our history, the changes in the sources of energy and
fuels have been gradual because most technological developments in energy industries have been evolutionary and not revolutionary in their impacts.
Out of all sources of energy and fuels, one source that is most abundant, most
green, most compatible with all other sources of energy and fuels, and most acceptable to the environmentalists is water. Nearly four-fifths of the world is surrounded
by water. Water is everywhere underground and closely tied to the development of