Seite - 13 - in Water, Energy, and Environment - A Primer

Chapter2 Energyand itsglobal context Any discussion of energy must begin with the recognition that energy is valued not for itself but rather for the beneficial services that its use makes possible. These ‘energy services’ include lighting, heating, cooling, communications, transportation (movement of people, water, and goods), and a broad range of commercial and industrial activities. In fact, there is some discussion that what should be marketed to consumers is not energy, as has historically been done, but the services that energymakes possible. 2.1 ENERGY’SROLEINSOCIETY An often heard statement is that ‘energy is the lifeblood of modern societies’. While water may want to compete for that title,what is indisputably true is that energy in its various forms has been crucial to human activities over the centuries. Initially this was in the form of human and animal power and of fire. What is also true is that modern societies provide a wide and ©2019TheAuthor. This isanOpenAccessbookchapter distributedunder the termsof the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits copying and redistribution for non-commercial purposeswith noderivatives, provided theoriginalwork is properly cited (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). This does not affect the rights licensed or assigned from any third party in this book. The chapter is from the bookWater,Energy, andEnvironment:APrimer, AllanR.Hoffman (Author). doi: 10.2166/9781780409658_0013