In 1949, anthropologist Leslie A. White published a paper in which he presented a very interesting theory. Professor White suggested that culture (everything humans know, have, and are able to do) advances in response to per capita energy consumption. Subsequent studies have shown his theory to be correct.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution more than two centuries ago, the world's economic growth has depended upon fossil fuels. Today, 85 percent of all energy produced in the United States comes from petroleum, coal, and natural gas. Half of the country's electricity alone is generated by coal-powered plants. Nearly all transportation--whether motor vehicle, rail, or ship--depends upon petroleum. Imagine how different your life would be without such mobility. How would you get to the various places you visit on a regular basis? How would the stores where you shop get their merchandise? How would public service vehicles--the police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and others--get to their destinations when desperately needed? How would garbage and other trash be picked up and dumped? The list goes on and on, but you get the idea.

During the past three decades, China's economy has experienced average annual growth of almost 10 percent. About two thirds of the country's energy is generated by coal. Certainly its dependence upon coal will continue for decades to come. China's coal reserves rank right behind those of the United States and Russia. During recent years, China, on average, has opened two new coal-fired plants each week. Because of its heavy dependence on coal, the country is a major contributor to atmospheric CO2. According to one estimate, if China's use of coal increases as it has since 1980, by 2030 it will be spewing out as much CO2 as is the entire world today! India and a number of economically developing countries also depend upon coal as their primary source of energy. Should those countries be denied the opportunity to grow economically?

Many people would like to see the world's economy and energy consumption slow down. But how realistic is this idea? As the world became painfully aware during the Great Depression of the 1930s, "As goes the U.S. economy, so goes the world's economy." This is a lesson that is being learned again during the current global economic downturn. The American economy is the source of energy that powers the global economic engine. In the context of global connections, none is more closely interwoven than is the global economy.

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