THE ENERGY OUTLOOK

This chapter discusses the world's growing demands for energy because of increasing world population, industrialization, improvement, and standard of living. It is generally believed that prior to 8000 B.C., agriculture was not known, and our ancestors at that time made living by hunting and gathering. In the recent years, the increase in energy consumption has been at least as dramatic as the population explosion. A table in the chapter shows an estimation of the world's energy consumption and production for the years 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2003. These statistics have been obtained from the data available for 220 countries ( International Energy Annual, 2003 of Energy Information Administration). The population estimates in this table have been obtained from the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. The chapter also provides information on the development of new and more efficient method for the production, recovery, and distribution of energy. As the demand for energy continues to grow, new energy-efficient technologies in power generation, delivery, and conversion can play an increasingly important role in moderating the growth in future energy demands and reducing environmental impacts.