The Industrial Revolution was powered by the discovery of how to use STEAM Energy to increase productivity. It gave Europe Manufactured goods, to trade with the undeveloped world, replacing the need to Colonize (take by force) them.
The West (First World) has been bleeding since OPEC jumped the cost of Oil Energy.
In 2012 the International Energy Agency forecast the Shale Oil boom will rewrite global trade movements, turning the USA into the largest oil producer (over Saudi Arabia) by 2020.
But wait, there’s more! Technology is enabling other Energy sources to become economical (Energy Returned On Energy Invested)-
--> Shale Gas - Japan is the main importer of LNG. Australian technology is building Coal Gas to LNG conversion plants at Gladstone.
--> Oil Sands - Canada has massive reserves. Canada says it will restrict any further sales to foreign government companies, after the last sale to China for $15.1 Billion.
--> Shale Oil - Australia has massive reserves in the Stuart Basin, near Gladstone.
--> Solar Energy - USA & China (and others) are racing to make it economical, first.
-->More sources emerge daily - Energy from Municipal wastes, pigs poo, cow farts, …
Combine the new economical energy to the massive increases in technology (e.g. As a result of Smart phones, mobility cost and time are approaching zero) plus the speed of change and we are in the first stages of the biggest Revolution in Productivity (wealth), ever!
NB:
1. Bitumen sands and extra heavy oil deposits are believed to be the remnants of vast oil deposits that have over time been degraded and consumed by bacteria and eroded.
Think of them as “ancient oil.” The two types of oil deposits are very similar to one another and differ only slightly by the amount of time they have been degraded by bacteria and meteorological erosion.
EROEI: When evaluating oil sands and other alternative fuels, it is important to understand that it takes energy to get energy – there is still no free lunch. Technology is revolutionizing the EROEI.
2. The Industrial Revolution was a period from 1750 to 1850 where changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times.
The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. Most notably, average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth.
In the two centuries following 1800, the world's average per capita income increased over tenfold, while the world's population increased over sixfold.
In the words of Nobel Prize winner Robert E. Lucas, Jr., "For the first time in history, the living standards of the masses of ordinary people have begun to undergo sustained growth ... Nothing remotely like this economic behavior has happened before".
Monday, December 10, 2012
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