Re: Can we store energy we make, instead of producing more energy than we need

Graham, Good question! First, the basic facts: we produce a lot of energy, because we use a lot of energy! Look at the keyboard of your computer. How many parts does it have? How long would it take you to put it together if it came in pieces? A long time, right? Thing is, you don't have to assemble your own keyboard. In fact, no one does, because that work is done by machines. What this means is that energy, instead of coming from someone's hands (originating from food energy), comes from machines.

For the last century, the best way to provide power to machines has been by burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas), which is causing the ice-cap melting and other problems you are concerned about. Finally, people are starting to understand we need to burn less fossil fuel.

There are three ways to burn less fossil fuel. The first is to use less energy to get things done: "efficiency." The second is to get energy from other sources: "substitution." We need to do both. The third is to stop doing things that waste energy. That one is trickier, because it requires each of us to decide what is "wasteful" and what is "necessary."

The issue of where and when to generate power is a big part of efficiency. There are a lot of jobs where power is wasted because it cannot be stored very well. In many cases, there are simple solutions that are only now being considered, because energy was so cheap that no one worried about wasting it.

Keep looking around for places you think energy is being wasted! In your lifetime, energy will become much more expensive, and you can help people save a lot of money (and make some money yourself!) if you can show how to do things with less energy. Good luck!