To answer the question, “What is the true value of energy?” one would have to ask the question, ?What is the desired quality of life??

In other words, there is no one answer for a varied level of lifestyle qualities. Compare peanuts to kumquats and you?ll find drastic differences in how to grow the two. One may be comparatively easy and adaptable whereas the other may be extremely finicky and difficult. The same concept could apply to people.

Take person ?A?. This type of person may be aware and interested in the benefits of composting, recycling, on-demand hot water, building with reusable materials, off the grid living, and more energy efficient ways of existing. This person may also find that making their own clothes, growing some of their own food, and using small amounts of energy to heat and fuel their home, vehicle, etc. is a satisfying way to live. They more than likely live in a home that is less than 1,200 sq. feet.

Take person ?B?. This person prefers to live in energy ?hungry? home. They own many electric gadgets, drive a large vehicle, use large amounts of fossil fuels to heat their home, etc. They buy expensive clothes and food, yet they feed the economy. They are satisfied by how much money they make and spend. Person ?B? more than likely lives in a home that is more than 1,500 sq. feet.

The different levels of energy used vary greatly from person ?A? to person ?B?. Person ?A? uses much less and may even produce some of their own energy by using solar power, a windmill, recycling, etc., while person ?B? is a 100% consumer of energy.

In America there are more people who fit the ?B? category rather than ?A?. America is mostly made of consumers who expect a high level of energy for a low price.

So, what is the true value of energy? A + B = true value? Ah, if it were only that simple.

Without Energy, we would not exist, because we are all made of Energy.

Einstein showed us that Energy is neither created nor destroyed. All the Energy-that-is already exists either in potential (stored) or moving (kinetic) form.

Our bodies are Energy Power Plants, receiving fuel in the form of air (oxygen) and food (calories), storing it, and converting it into movement, both conscious and unconscious. Energy is also used to build our bodies, and to maintain and repair them. We release carbon dioxide in our breath, which is then used by plants to grow! We release waste from food that our body does not use, and even that waste can be converted into energy (methane) or cleaned and used as fuel for other entities (fertilizer for farms). Ideally, all waste would be used or recycled.

Like the planet Earth itself, each animal and plant is an Energy Power Plant. The Earth uses its own waste very efficiently. Nature is a good Teacher about how to use Energy in a wise way. We?ve learned a lot from Nature about Energy; yet there is much more to learn!

I agree with Starhawk?s declaration:

“Declaration of the Four Sacred Things:

“The Earth is a living, conscious being. In company with cultures of many different times and places, we name these things as sacred: air, fire, water, and earth.

“Whether we see them as the breath, ENERGY, blood, and body of the Mother, or as the blessed gifts of a Creator, or as symbols of interconnected systems that sustain life, we know that nothing can live without them.

“TO CALL THESE THINGS SACRED IS TO SAY THAT THEY HAVE A VALUE BEYOND THEIR USEFULNESS FOR HUMAN ENDS, THAT THEY THEMSELVES BECOME THE STANDARD BY WHICH OUR ACTS, OUR ECONOMICS, OUR LAWS, AND OUR PURPOSES MUST BE JUDGED. NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO APPROPRIATE THEM OR PROFIT FROM THEM AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS. ANY GOVERNMENT THAT FAILS TO PROTECT THEM FORFEITS ITS LEGITIMACY.

“All people, all living things, are part of the earth life, and so are sacred. No one of us stands higher or lower than any other. Only justice can assure balance; only ecological balance can sustain freedom. Only in freedom can that fifth sacred thing we call Spirit flourish in its full diversity.”

The above quote is from:
http://www.starhawk.org/writings/fifth-sacred-thing.html

I value Energy as sacred. When Energy is hoarded or used to generate wealth for the few, while others suffer, this is the wrong use of Energy. When Energy is created at the expense of the ecological balance, this is the wrong use of Energy.

What is the right use of Energy, the wise use of Energy? What if we define Water as Energy, because there is no life without it? Some corporations (and individuals) have attempted to control water for their own benefit; for example, civic leaders in Bolivia ‘sold’ the city of Cochabamba’s water rights to Bechtel, a private corporation. The people of Bolivia rebelled and declared the sale both unethical and fundamentally impossible and created the Cochabamba declaration.

Energy is the birthright of us all. The balance between potential and kinetic forms of Energy is best kept by the sharing of Energy among us all, for the good of all, according to free will.

Money is a kind of potential Energy which, when circulated, creates a system by which the Community of Humanity shares its resources. If money is used in a way that causes some of the Community hardship, or if it is used in a way that upsets the ecological balance, that is the wrong use of Energy.

Humans have come to a point in time where we are faced with a dilemma and a challenge. How can we use Energy in a way that is wise and fair to the Earth, the ecological system, and each other? Energy itself is teaching us how to treat it. As Starhawk puts it: ?NOW is the time to connect and align with the great transformative powers of Nature, and to bring those creative energies fully alive in our lives, homes, and communities so that we can also bring healing, justice, and balance into the world.?

This challenge we face as Humans comes out of our experience as Humans. It was an inevitability. Humans are naturally interested in manipulating Energy. Our physical and mental makeup is geared for this. We are curious creatures, always experimenting, always learning something new. We are animals who are built to play with Technology. Indeed, Technology can help us use Energy in balance and in harmony with Nature. We simply must realize HOW VALUABLE Energy Is, and act accordingly. And have fun doing it!

I think that energy is good. We need it to heat our homes and food to eat. We need to save it because who knows how much energy we have? We need different energy because the energy we have now is not good because we get it from oil (some of it).

On nature of energy:

Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it just changes form. So what is the value of something that is always there?

On war and peace:

Energy is like a knife, you can use it to cut your bread (peaceful use of energy) or you can use it to kill others (destructive use of energy.)

On conversion:

Once the ink has dried, with all your weep and tears, the writing will not be erased (recollection of a Persian poem).
Once you burn a matter and release the energy, with all your sorrow the matter will not be back to its original form.

To put a true value on energy, you would have to consider

1. What can be done with it
2. The damage using it in a certain method inflicts
3. How much energy is taken away by that damage
4. What else can be done with it

The emphasis on energy research is, in my opinion, somewhat misdirected. There is so much research being done on new sources of energy, and this is good, but there is one critical step that seems to be overlooked often, and that is converting the economy from one energy source to another. For example, there has been much talk about using hydrogen to fuel automobiles, but there is a problem in implementing this in a large scale. This problem stems from simple economics, companies will not want to build a large number of hydrogen fuel stations until there is a profitable number of consumers with hydrogen powered cars on the streets, but consumers will be unwilling to purchase a hydrogen powered vehicle until there is a fuel station in their neighborhood, or at least their city. This is this is the Catch-22 of alternative fuels. My suggestion for all those researching alternative fuels, please consider technologies that will allow a smooth and gradual transition. For example, an engine that will run on conventional fuel, such as gasoline or diesel, and ethanol. Make hybrid vehicles that I can plug into my home power outlet, so when I run to the post office I don’t even need to start the gasoline engine. Start the transition to hydrogen by creating a hydrogen internal combustion engine, so factories will be able to mass produce it with minimal changes to their manufacturing progress. This change should be gradual, but it should start as soon as possible, to prevent us from wasting what we have.