Sitio visitado en junio de 2003

En este trabajo se analiza el rol de la energía en la llamada "era tecnológica. A continuación se transcribe el abstract realizado por el autor. ; With the cyclical return of higher oil prices, energy policy, or the lack thereof, returns to the front pages of the nation’s newspapers. Even though energy has been a central (yet seemingly invisible) element of policy proposals arising out of the debate about what to “do” about global climate change, media interest largely has focused on the ostensible consequences of speculative climate change (higher temperatures, melting ice caps, rising sea levels, the spread of tropical disease, etc.) rather than upon the consequences of today’s actions (higher fuel prices melting the Wall Street). With the 30th anniversary of Earth Day, energy policy once again takes center stage. In anticipation of the annual event, President Clinton and Leonardo DiCaprio walked through the White House and visited about energy efficiency measures. DiCaprio chairs the April 22nd event, which has as its central theme “We can end dependence on the fossil fuels.” What is one to make of energy policy in the 21st century? For students of the subject, Yogi Berra’s immortal “It seems like déjà vu all over again” never has been more apt. The nostrums from the usual orbit of energy policy wonks and environmental organizations have this in common: They appear immune to changes in the 30 years since the first Earth Day. The U.S has entered a new economic era driven, in significant measure, by the "new economy" industries of the Information Age. The Information Age is purely an electricity play, from top to bottom, from manufacturer to end-user. Electricity has never been more important to the economy. Yet energy policy ignores this reality and instead continues to be anchored in flawed premises and failed ideas formed 30 years ago - ideas dominated by oil, notions of scarcity, limits, and environmental apocalypse. It is time for a fundamental re-examination and re-structuring of U.S. energy policy, one that breaks with history and looks toward the future. The central defining theme of American energy policies should be anchored in three core realties: Electricity is, and will remain, the primary energy for the ascendant digital economy; The economy will need more (not less) abundant, low-cost electricity; and The economy will become even more reliant on electricity, thereby making “reliability” a critical criterion.