What’s like with energy?

By Marta Koblańska, February 1/2025, 18:30, Photo: Angeles Balaguer, Pixabay

Are fossil fuels passe or not exactly? The newly published studies in ,,Cell Sustainability” call for some limits in energy-dense materials but in the other hand make clear how fossils impact out life.

The need for more efficient management of fossils comes due to huge emissions stored in our technosphere that includes artifacts manufactured by humans during the years of civilization development. But the development has not been in favor for a portion of people. In some countries urbanization does not exceed 35 percent of the country land. Construction sector is though the one which accounts for nearly 40 percent of harmful emissions both stored in buildings as well as needed for its further development as we all rather prefer to live in a house or flat instead of jungle.

Why we have to pay for life?

Energy, is a sine qua non resource for any development and thus advance. Each human, country, civilization, in various forms, need it for existence. Fossil fuels come from the Earth. As scientists write in ,,Cell”, fossil carbon is stored mainly in long-lasting products as in these ones we use shortly decomposites faster and release to the atmosphere is quicker. Between 1995 and 2019 over 8 billion tons of fossil carbon have accumulated in human-made artifacts. And approximately 0.4 billion tons we have been added each year as a kind of payment for our civilization.

What’s more, a considerable share of fossil fuels is used as a feedstock (non-energy use) in the industry to produce final goods without which we can not live anymore (cloths, medicines, fertilizers). We also need these fuels to distribute goods as transport still mainly goes on oil, despite it may change to some extent. This explains why oil may be swapped for selected currencies and selected currencies may be swapped for oil. Some countries tried to do so with natural gas but not fully succeeded despite natural gas may in real reduce emissions as methane decomposition in the atmosphere takes substantially less time than carbon dioxine. And it is crucial for fertilizers.

What is security in real?

In Poland we all can thank God fertilizer industry has not gone bankrupt, yet. The price we are paying here for natural gas purchased in so-called spot deliveries is considerably higher due to a long way transport from opposite direction than traditionally and thus necessary fees. By the way, the fact is substantially less applicable if gas is transported via own pipe (this is the cheapest way of transport) and from even leased fields or it is shipped directly, however the key here is quantity.

High prices of oil and gas might be one of the most important reasons of so many bankruptcies in Poland last year. Along with high-level of mortgage and consumption credits that cost in line with local interest rate we can say thank you to Mr Glapinski, who is not my type, for keeping the rates on a stable level despite huge energy costs surge. The security is thus the price affordable to pay either in short-term or in long-term. And this depends substantially on the standard of living. When you pay more for the same goods while the rest is paying less you are becoming poorer.