What can be expected if we continue to use fossil fuels at the same or even faster rates?
What will be the consequences for air, water resources and natural ecosystems?
And how will the environment in which we live change if energy consumption continues to grow without significantly changing the way we produce it?
These are questions that increasingly go beyond the energy sector. They affect the economy, quality of life, natural resources and ultimately – the future of society.
What is changing around us?
Energy consumption is not only related to electricity production.
The way we produce and use energy has a direct bearing on the consumption of natural resources, the quality of air and water, as well as the state of ecosystems.
But where is the limit?
And how quickly must the current model change in order for natural systems to adapt to the upcoming changes?
This is one of the key questions of our time.
What awaits us if we do not change direction?
Prof. Pavel Zehtindzhiev defines the present moment as particularly important and warns of the consequences of delaying the transition to renewable energy.
„We live in a very important historical moment. If we do not take justified, reasoned, scientifically based action to transition to renewable energy in the very, very near future – and when I say very near future, I do not mean centuries, but decades – on Earth there will be abrupt changes, cataclysms in ecological terms, related to climate dynamics.“
According to him, such changes will not remain limited only to the natural environment.
They can affect the conditions in which economies function, the way in which resources are used, and the very environment in which people live.
Will the resources for which we compete change?
Prof. Zekhtindzhiev also draws attention to another process – the redistribution of resources.
According to him, in the future societies may compete not only for the resources that we traditionally associate with energy.
„Resources will not be the oil and gas that we currently imagine, but drinking water and clean air.“
This perspective changes the way we can look at the energy transition.
It is no longer just a matter of choosing between different technologies for generating electricity.
It is also related to the protection of vital resources on which health, the economy and the quality of life depend.
Why is the speed of change so important?
One of the most important topics is not only the change itself, but its speed.
According to Prof. Zehtindzhiev the goal should be to limit the dynamics of climate change and create conditions for natural systems to adapt gradually.
„We must stop the dynamics of climate in order to create conditions for nature to adapt slowly and gradually.“
Nature has the ability to adapt to changes, but this adaptation requires time.
When changes occur too quickly, the pressure on ecosystems increases.
This is precisely what the professor warns about:
„If we do not prevent them and these changes become rapid, this will lead to an ecological catastrophe.“
Energy has a price that we do not always see
When we talk about the price of energy, we usually think of the bill for electricity, fuel prices or production costs.
But there is another cost.
It can be related to air quality, the availability of clean water, the state of natural systems and the ability of societies to adapt to a changing environment.
This cost can hardly be measured in money alone.
And that is precisely why the issue of energy is gradually becoming a question of choosing a development model.
What environment will we leave behind?
In the last articles in the series, we looked at wind energy not only as a technology for generating electricity.
We saw its connection with the local economy, agriculture, technological investments, artificial intelligence, data centers, the electricity grid, storage systems and the development of regions.
But a bigger question remains at the core:
How will we produce the energy we need without destroying the resources on which our future depends?
There is no single technology that alone can provide the answer.
But the direction in which energy systems develop will matter far beyond the production of electricity.
Because the question is not just how much energy we will need.
The question is how we will produce it – and what kind of environment we will leave behind.
„WIND – MORE THAN ENERGY“
A documentary about energy, technology, nature and the decisions that will define the future.
Director: Nedy John Cross