Energy Dependence

I know it's a bit obvious, but I don't think anyone has gone there yet and it is something I often think about. Today is rainy and crappy out (it's because I washed my car), so I thought I would get my weekly assignment out of the way. The industrial and concomitant technical revolution of the last 100 years has indeed been fueled (sorry about the pun) by relatively cheap energy. Without it, the modern world as we know it would not exist. I'm not going to go political on you other than to acknowledge that most of our geopolitical challenges past, present, and future are inexorably intertwined with ownership and usage of energy resources. There are many who view energy usage (and arguable exploitation) as a form of evil and a scourge to society and the environment, but miraculous human achievement is tied to it as well. There are some who as a lifestyle choice live "off the grid", but it's usually after attaining a level of baseline wealth on the grid and with the relative protection of surrounding society and modern infrastructure to support such a choice.

I do not intend to spawn a controversial discussion of Global Warming as it were. I do think the modern clash of civilizations which is likely to have a larger global near term impact than temperature change also is tightly associated with energy resource ownership and wealth distribution.

Having myself gone through a recent personal consumer technology binge, I have to tip my hat to energy and technology dependence (actually addiction) that I and most modern "civilized" citizens have embraced regardless of the underlying cost/complications.