Talk about energy refers mainly to the energy that is derived from fossil-fuel derivatives that include materials like crude oil and its products, such as petroleum and natural gas. Causes of energy scarcity refer to those factors that contribute to the scarcity of these types of energy sources. Some of these factors include a high burden of demand on the energy sources, the fact that these energy sources are mostly non-renewable, and a lack of proper management that results in wastage. Energy sources continue to depreciate in availability in direct relation to the level of demand that is placed on them through consumption.
One of the main factors that contributes to the growth of an energy crisis is the fact that the demand placed on the available natural resources is more than the rate of supply can meet. Energy is the foundation of modern society, because practically every aspect of modern life is dependent on different forms of energy, from the time each individual wakes up to the activities for the day—whether work or play—to the time the individual goes to bed at night. Energy is used for functions like lighting, heating and powering vehicles and industrial machinery. This incessant and relentless demand for ever-increasing energy places a huge demand burden on the level of supply of such energy, leading to an imbalance in the two forces, consequently resulting in energy scarcity.
Another factor that contributes to energy scarcity is the fact that most of the sources of energy come from sources that do not lend themselves to duplication or renewal. In other words, any portion of the current reservoir of such energy that is used up is gone and will not be easily recovered, certainly not in this lifetime with the current technology. This can be attributed to the fact that the reservoir of crude oil that is the source of energy was formed so long ago that forming it through that same means is simply out of the question, since the current stockpile would be long depleted before that time.
The lack of development of other more reliable sources of energy is also a cause of energy scarcity since such development would present consumers with other choices, reducing the energy scarcity. Some other options for deriving energy that have not benefited from the kind of attention that fossil-fuel derivatives have enjoyed include solar, hydro and nuclear forms of energy. The adequate development of these sources will go a long way in the alleviation of the energy scarcity.
