THE BASIS OF LIFE
A scientific finding have changed my perspectives about the world: The law of conservation of energy states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed – only converted from one form of energy to another. Many of us might have heard about this, but what does it really mean to our life from a socio-economic perspective?
Erwin Schrodinger, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933, summed up the basis of life, “What an organism feeds upon is negative entropy”. Negative entropy, or free energy, is the energy available for conversion. Based on that, Vaclav Smil stated in his book How the world really works, “energy is the only true universal currency, and nothing (from galactic rotations to ephemeral insect lives) can take place without its transformation”, and Physicist Robert Ayres has also written about the notion of energy in all economies: “the economic system is essentially a system for extracting, processing and transforming energy as resources into energy embodied in products and services”.
Energy is the only true universal currency, and nothing can take place without its transformation
Vaclav Smil, How the world really works
This can be simply put like the following – the level of total energy in the universe is constant, and we, in the process of production and consumption, transform free energy into other forms (e.g., our metabolism transform chemical energy by breakdown down large molecules such as sugars and fats to heat the body (Thermal energy), or enable us to move a heavy box (Mechanical energy); or the dams, by letting water fall from high to lower level to run turbines that generate electricity, transform Gravitational energy into Electrical energy; or burning fossil fuels (Chemical energy into Thermal energy) to heat the water, which creates steam (Thermal energy into Mechanical energy), and that runs turbines to generate electricity (Mechanical energy into Electrical energy). However, this process of energy conversion is not 100% efficient, but it always creates byproduct called heat and greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide, methane, etc.). These byproducts are often dissipated into the atmosphere (or large bodies of water like rivers); and the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases trap the heat in the atmosphere, making the earth warmer. This phenomenon is widely known as global warming.
THE TWO BIG PROBLEMS
We all know that the revolution of human’s civilization used up more and more energy, mostly generated from fossil fuel. Data shows that the 20th century saw a nearly 1,500-fold increase in the use of fossil fuel compared to that in 1800. This socio-economic advancement causes two big problems:
- Problem #1: As stated in the 1st section about the law of conservation, total energy is not unlimited, and so is free energy – which is essential to living body. Thus, one day, we will run out of free energy. Fortunately, the Earth, since the day it was born, have received energy from the radiant of the Sun. Even if one day we run out of fossil fuels on Earth, we will still have this so-called “unlimited” source of energy that is possible to convert into the form of usable energy. As long as the Sun still shines, we will still be alright – and we don’t really need to worry about this because the Sun has only gone through half of its lifetime and will last for another 5 billion years1.
- Problem #2: However, the second problem is much bigger – global warming. With the current trend of temperature increase, this would kill all the living organisms on Earth way before we run out of energy.
THE SOLUTIONS
This problem can be broken down into three key areas, each of which would be solved in very different ways.
Solution #1: Increasing the amount of the energy in the form that we consume the most (e.g., electricity) with the least amount of byproduct.
One example is to replace sources of electricity generation from fossil fuel power plants with nuclear power plants, or using solar panels and wind turbines to create electricity from renewable resources.
Solution #2: Converting energy more efficiently in economic activities in process of production.
This is not limited to manufacturing, but all other industries. For instance, real estate, which is the largest asset in the world, accounts for 40% of global carbon emission. It takes tons of steels, cement, sand, plastic, wood, and glass to build a tower. The building that we are living or working, consumes a significant amount of energy i.e. electricity to keep the light and air conditioner on 24/24, or to keep the electrical equipment (computer, TV, projector, etc.) running.
- The first step is creating transparency. I believe this is what the nations are pushing the most, by trying to quantify the level of carbon emission business are creating. By doing this, we will be able to have the visibility of the output of business activities vs the amount of carbon emission originated.
- The second step is to optimize the energy consumptions. This can be: developing a new solutions that are more energy-efficient while producing the same level of output, optimizing the existing process to make it more efficient, or prioritizing the economic activities that are most efficient.
Solution #3: Recycling the energy consumed to the form that is utilizable. Or in other words, how can we convert wasted energy into free energy.
I would like to stress again that the term “energy” has a much broader meaning to what we generally use to refer to electricity or oil and gas. It means all forms of energy that include food, fertilizer, or water. A very simple way is to not waste food – a shockingly fact is that roughly one-third of the food produced for human consumption in US every year is wasted2.
IF ENERGY IS THE CURRENCY OF THE UNIVERSE, ARE WE SPENDING OUR MONEY RIGHT?
Recently, I read an experiment in which the scientist created an Utopia (unlimited food and drink) for the mouse. The result was astonishing, but terrifying. At the end of the experiment, the mouse is found to lose the ability and the willing to copulate and reproduce. Instead, they just only eating, sleeping, grooming, without any social interaction.
Reflecting on what is happening in the world right now, it is scary to find out the similarities of the human’s social behavior and the mouse’s in the experiment. We are living in the world where youngsters prefer spending their time online rather than going outdoors and interacting with others. Corporations, in the pursue of profit, have created algorithms that exploit human biological characteristics to make users addicted to their products. Users’ brain get the feeling of being “rewarded”, making them keep scrolling.
How long can this goes on? Social media platforms are making money from these users mainly through advertising, and the more users they acquired, the more prominent they become as a marketing channel. As this trend goes on, more “content generator” or “micro-influencer” will join those companies “workforce” up until a point where the growth of this market hits its peak, where the revenue per these workers start to decline. However, no one knows when this will happen. As moving to online channel is an inevitable trend, and the supporting ecosystems (e.g., logistic, infrastructure) are receiving more and more investment, I am scared that this will go on for a long time. I just wonder, how can people waste a lot of time online and not creating any output, but are still able to maintain their lives. Is this because the level of output of the society is too abundant which reduced the cost of living to the level where people can meet basic needs of life with minimal effort? This situation seems very similar to the scientific experiment abovementioned, and we all know what would happen at the end. If this hypothesis is true, then increasing productivity to produce more output might not be the answer to this problem of the society.
We have just been through the hype of crypto/blockchain where people have an illusion of making a lot of money while sitting still. This technology, while is promising, struggled to find a problem to solve. The bubble burst. This trend will probably comeback like how Google, Yahoo thrived after the Dotcom bubble, once this technology finds it place in our daily life. However, what worth noticing is its level of energy consumption. According to Columbia climate school, “Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, currently consumes an estimated 150 terawatt-hours of electricity annually — more than the entire country of Argentina, population 45 million. Producing that energy emits some 65 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually — comparable to the emissions of Greece — making crypto a significant contributor to global air pollution and climate change”. The number is staggering. While the world is trying to find a way to reduce carbon emissions across all industries and aspects of life, this technology (or at least, the way some people are trying to benefit from it), creating no significant output or improved productivity, has used up enormous amount of energy – our world’s ultimate currency.
There are tons of other examples of how energy is wasted in human’s activities, including food waste, excessive consumption due to consumerism, sub-optimal logistic, transportation, and storage (e.g., empty trucks or containers), obsolete production technologies,… and the list will go on.
CONCLUSION
As energy is the basis of life, all the economic theory and activities should put energy into consideration. The reason is, we are not producing energy, we are extracting energy by transforming them from one form to another (e.g., energy generated from burning fossil fuel, etc.). Hence, the utmost objective of all economic activities is not growth of output or profit, but to create the adequate amount of output with optimal use of energy.
The universe has been very generous by providing us with abundant “energy”, but it is time for us to show our appreciation by putting more effort to preserve this valuable resource.
EPILOGUE
In my previous blog “A man with a mission”, I posed a lingering question about life:
“Who we are as a human being”
Through the lenses of physics and socio-economic, I came up with a realization about one thing that matters – to find a way to treasure the lives that was given by the universe, by solving the problem of global warming, directly or indirectly. It does not matter which industries or functions, from helping real estate developer building a greener township, helping a manufacturing company improve their production efficiency, to helping a hotel chain minimize their food waste. As long as I am still solving business problems with the goal for sustainability and keep that as the North Star to guide my journey, I can be at peace at the question about the meaning of life.
After two years, I realized that the answer to the question about the meaning of life could not be too distant from our inner selves for it to be meaningful and served as the North Star to my decisions. Life has changed and part of me is still the person I was 2 years ago, who had burning questions about life and strive to figure out its meaning. But the other part of me has evolved to become something else – a husband and a dad.
My whole universe has shifted. I’m no longer searching outward; I’m finally looking inward, into the life I’ve created.
Now, that is one thing that matters.
Sources
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