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Transcript for The Future of Energy Gases, segment 12 of 13
We need to remember that atmospheric pollution from energy generation and use is a global problem. A view of the Earth at night reflects the massive amount of energy we consume and the uneven distribution of its use. Right now twenty percent of the world's population uses seventy percent of all energy. What will happen when the population doubles over the next forty years and energy use in developing countries expands to feed growing economies? The U. S. Geological Survey and other organizations are now approaching these and similar vital questions through a broad variety of projects from field mapping to laboratory experiments and computer modeling.
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Some people maintain that our future well-being depends on critical decisions involving energy use and its effects on the environment. Others suggest that our concerns for the environment, especially involving uncertain factors such as climatic change, are exaggerated. Wasn't it Yogi Berra who once said that what gets us in trouble is not what we don't know - it's what we know for sure that just ain't so? Perhaps we need to take a look at what we seem to know as well as those factors that we don't know about energy resources. If we do, we may well find that a secure and clean energy future is within our grasp.