Before starting my lecture on the principal theme, priorities, I want to consider some general items. Energy conservation is a misused expression for the problem we are talking about today. The proof is simply given by the fundamental physical law of energy conservation, which is! "although energy can be changed in form it can be neither created nor destroyed." We are really talking about conservation of fossil energy resources in order to avoid depletion. However, we can only postpone depletion, not avoid it. When fossil energy resources are used on a large scale, even if less than nowadays, depletion will be the result. Only the moment of depletion, doomsday, will be later in the future. Depletion of fossil energy resources is not only a disaster for the supply of cheap energy, but also for the production of all sorts of hydrocarbons. To a great extent, the problem is not today's problem, .but a problem for the (near?) future. We can discuss it, but hardly imagine what the repercussions on everyday life will be when depletion is nearby. A sketch of everyday life in such a situation will perhaps be an eye-opener for many people. I will not speak on this subject today, but will confine myself to priorities in the field of energy, especially those related to transport. I do not expect to give mature solutions for the energy problem. I have opted to look at the problem in a way other . than the usual one. The result may be that at the end of my lecture, you will say I have posed more questions that I have resolved. Then the only commiseration will be that questions have to be posed before the answers can be given. I will start with the problem of priorities in general, both short and long-term, and continue with an application in the field of energy in relation to the transportation sector. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting