| What
is Energy?
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What is energy?
When we ask that question we start out on an amazing journey of
discovery. It begins a story as epic and dramatic as we can ever
imagine. So lets start again with this thought in mind. What is energy?
We know it exists as surely as we each exist.
We sense it in every movement we make and wherever we look. We
sense it in every smell, in every sound and every touch. We know energy
suffuses, fills, permeates our bodies, our minds. We know it is vibrant.
We know it is vital. We know it is essential. We know this
because all our senses constantly remind us that without energy then
things cease to work, cease to play. We all know that
some days we enjoy a greater sense of energy than others. On those days
we experience a greater sense of vibrancy and clarity, of purpose and
meaning, of potential and action. Contrast this to
those days when we experience a sense of a lack of energy. Then we tend
to experience lethargy and dullness, of aimlessness and weakness, of
hopelessness and inaction. If a friend asks how you are you might reply,
“ Help, I’m lacking energy today” Of course you
know you are still experiencing energy on some levels because there you
are – still hearing, still talking and your heart is still beating and
the atoms of your body still retain your essential form. However on
other levels you sense that today the forces of gravity seem to
overwhelm the forces of your body. And somehow the mind has been
affected. The mind is concluding, “Help, the world is lacking vitality
today. I’m lacking energy today” And so you and
your friend talk about your shared interests and enthusiasms until
suddenly it occurs to you, “Hey my spirits have lifted. I am feeling
much better now. – I feel
more lively, more engaged, more full of energy… the world has more
sparkle.” What has changed?
Your friend? Not much. Your surroundings? Not much. Your body? Not
really though it is more alert and poised now. The big change, the
sudden switch to a new dimension of experience, is the capacity of your
mind to experience energy. This is of
interest because it reminds us that the mind and energy are intimately
related. One minute our mind could experience relatively little energy.
The next minute our mind could experience a lot of energy. What has
changed? Our minds or the amount of energy? All the evidence suggests
the amount of energy remains unchanged and it is our capacity to
experience energy that has changed. What does this
tell us? It does not tell us what energy is but it does indicate a few
things. One is that energy, whatever it is, is central to our existence
and our experience of it shapes our world-view. Another is that our
minds affect our experience of energy. It seems safe to conclude this
stuff that we symbolise as “energy” is very important and
meaningful. This mind-energy
relationship is actually very hard to think about and indeed even as I
am thinking about it my brain is feeling ever more numb, my body is
almost painfully tired and heavy and my eye lids are drooping so I can
barely see the screen to write. I am feeling quite drowsy seated here in
front of my computer waiting for the words to come so we can communicate
about the nature of energy. Maybe you are
feeling the same? Well let us hit the pause button on this video.
Let’s see what happens if we both stand up and have a bit of a
stretch. Indeed I think I will get outside and mow my lawn for a few
minutes. Ah feel the wind on my skin. Taste the salt in the air. Feel my
body working, pushing the mower. Ah I am waking up again. I have a
renewed sense of energy. I hope you had a good stretch too and you will
be aware now that thinking about energy is not the same as experiencing
a sense of energy. In fact sometimes
thinking can inhibit our experience of energy. The ancient yogis and
Buddhas understood this well. That is why they developed extremely
sophisticated yet simple techniques to aid us to clear our minds of
thoughts so we can better experience a sense of energy, of life, of
compassion. Anyone who has attempted to practice these techniques will
know two things. One is that in the moments in which the mind is most
fully focused and aware of energy there is a sense of great vitality
and meaning. The other is that mind has a fantastic ability to generate
thoughts that destroy this focus and suppress the experience of energy. I suspect if you
have experienced this capacity of the mind then you will appreciate how
difficult it is to communicate the nature of energy by just thinking and
talking about it as we are. Answering the question “What is energy”
is as challenging as answering the questions “What is love?” and
“What is life?” and “What is science?” We are talking
about states of being that are universal and yet each person has their
unique experience of them. Yes, you guessed.
The answer to the question “What is energy?” involves the ultimate
paradox; something logical thought is not capable of resolving and
accepting. So why should you
and I continue with this communication? Surely these are just thoughts.
This is true. However we are also engaged in sharing symbols - and
symbols have great power. Indeed our capacity to use symbols in
sophisticated ways enables civilisation to exist. Symbols enable us to
crystallize information, share meaning and transcend time. Some even
enable us to transcend paradox. This is because
our use of symbols reflects every element of our beings. They enable us
to engage each other at both the conscious level of our thoughts and at
the subconscious level of emotions of our emotions. Most vitally we can
use them to generate active responses at the primal level in each other,
at the deep level where at any moment billions of decisions are being
made that control the flows of our breath, our blood and our general
sensibilities. Here’s a small
experiment to remind you of our primal beings, our primal responses.
Experience this. First hold the hand in a symbol of peace, of blessing.
Then clench them into an aggressive fist display. Notice how these
simple motions instantly generate extreme responses at the gut level
ranging from a state of peace and well-being to a state of fear and
aggression. Maybe you notice your lips tighten and your face contort
down as your fist tightens? Now relax the hand again in a symbol of
peace, of blessing. Feel the difference. Symbols are
extremely potent. In fact without symbols there is probably not much
life at all. All sentient creatures use symbols in the great dance of
survival and procreation. If this is true
then it is reasonable to assume, as I have, that our capacity to use
symbols underpins civilisation. This suggests we are wise to ensure we
take great care to conserve the fullest potential of our key symbols. If we abuse our
most vital symbols and fail to use them in a state of science then we
put civilisation at risk. If in our use of
our key symbols they lose their meaning, if they lose their vitality,
then we lose our capacity to participate in the dance of survival, our
children never get to procreate. The prospects for the Homo sapiens
species become dismal. Let us assume the
energy symbol is such a key symbol. So “What is
energy?” What is the greatest meaning possible inherent in the energy
symbol? Wiki suggests that
“in science” (quote-unquote) energy is the capacity of something to
do work. This evokes the obvious question, “What on Earth is energy in
non-science?” Think about it for a moment. Is there, are there
universes based in non-science? Or, if you like, non-sense. How could
they possibly work? This
video is being made in the spirit of science and these questions are
just an alert to non-sense, non-science. They form an aside. They are
not central to this discussion. The Wiki article states “Energy broadly means the capacity of
something, a person, an animal or a physical system to do work and
produce change.” Well, that is
very broad indeed because the universe we know of can be considered a
physical system, albeit a system so vast it boggles our imagination. And
there is the possibility it is only one of a multitude of universes.
That suggests that energy is so bounteous that for all intents and
proposes we can consider it a constant. Human beings cannot create it or
destroy it. What ever we do the total amount of energy basically remains
unchanged. What can and does
change is the forms that energy is manifest in. And the nature of energy
is such that all forms are subject to constant change. To the extent the
universe is working, is playing, there is continual universal
transformation. Which ever way
you look – on through and on through the stars and galaxies and beyond
or on through and on through the molecules and atoms and beyond –
which ever way we look we become filled with awe at how tiny and simple
we are and yet how huge and complex we are. We filled with paradoxical
feelings. Similarly we feel
paradoxical feelings whenever we reflect on the nature of change. We are
humbled by our awareness of the brief, the trace existence we know in
the human form as we observe billions of years of change of the
universe(s). At the same time we are exalted as we learn of the
astonishing range of trace balances in the enormous flux that enable our
planet to exist and life to exist on the Earth. In such moments it is
easy to feel great awe and gratitude that from such a vast range of
possibilities in the great potential we are manifest, we exist. Humans have
searched for symbols since time immemorial that crystallise these
feelings about energy, that can act as guides so we can enjoy greater
harmony amidst the mighty flux of change. Perhaps the greatest symbol of
the nature of energy that we have found so far is the Conservation
Principle of Energy. This states: Energy
can not be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to
another or transferred from one body to another, but the total amount of
energy remains constant (the same). This is about as
close to a law of the universe as we have. For millennia humans have
applied every ounce of ingenuity that we are capable of to finding a
flaw, some loophole in the principle. We have explored, tested and
experimented with the Conservation Principle with unparalleled ferocity.
The simple reason behind this often obsessive pursuit is that the
Conservation Principle forms a constant reminder that we are mortal and
that we need be stewards of our world. Try as we humans have to
circumvent the Principle over millennia, no matter what we do, the truth
of the Conservation Principle remains resolute, inviolate. Whether we
accept it or not, the fact remains that every human being arises and
passes within about a century. The fact remains that societies that fail
to be respect the Conservation Principle of Energy perish sooner rather
than later. Now this is where
our story gets really interesting…. Now as you know
we describe ourselves as Homo sapiens, which is Latin: homo (man) plus
sapien (wise)– the wise/rational man. We each have a supposedly wise
hominoid brain with a capacity at least 1400cc. You would think that
every human being would wish to enjoy and share something that is so
vital and bounteous as energy. But, no. Many of
us squabble, fight and even slaughter our fellow beings over this stuff
called energy. Indeed many of us live impoverished lives, made desperate
because of a perceived lack of energy. We lurch from one “energy
crisis” to the next “energy crisis”, fearful that energy will be
cease to be. Many of us live in a state of quiet terror, surrounded by
billboards and headlines shouting at us that “energy is running
out”. So let us have a
look at this stuff called energy that causes us so much misery. Again
lets ask the question, “What is energy?” I don’t know
much about this guy called William Blake but many people now recognise
him as a great poet and visionary. I understand he never travelled more
than about thirty miles distance from his home in London and so probably
had a pretty small carbon footprint/. And apparently he died at a ripe
age singing songs of joy. So maybe he knew a thing or two. I can only
ever recall a couple of lines of poetry and both are attributed to
William Blake. One says, “Energy
is Bliss”. The other says, “To
see a world in a grain of sand, Wow! That lifts
me every time I hear it quoted. This guy must have had a pretty generous
spirit and must have been onto something. Let us compare that statement
with our modern literature on the nature of energy as found in
that Wiki article. “Energy is a word with more than one
meaning. Energy broadly means the capacity of something, a person,
an animal or a physical system to do work and produce change. *It
can refer to the ability for someone to act or speak in a lively and
vigorous way. *It
is used in science to describe how much potential a physical system has
to change. *It
may also be used in economics to describe the part of the market where
energy itself is harnessed and sold to consumers.” Whoop! Whoop! Stop.Think about that first statement, “Energy is a word
with more than one meaning.” Let
us assume one meaning is the meaning inherent in the Conservation
Principle of Energy which describes our universe(s). What on Earth could
the other meaning be? What could this other energy possibly be? Now if you ask me the first two definitions are just restatements of the
broad statement: Energy is the capacity or
potential of something to effect change. So both of these are
consistent with the Conservation Principle. But the third meaning, the
meaning given by economists – this does not make sense. It does not
make sense at all. The plot deepens. Suddenly things get murky,
ominous… However before we venture into the realms of the economists, let us ensure
our sensibilities remain firmly rooted in the meaning of energy implicit
in the Conservation Principle. The broad statement speaks of the
“potential of something to affect change”.
That “something” could be this word that I speak/write or it
could be a grain of sand in your hand or it could be the universe(s).
Let us briefly reflect on the potential in a drop of water. Maybe you are
already familiar with these thoughts. Perhaps already something cynical
in your mind is singing, “Boring, boring, boring. I know what a drop
of water is”. Do not be deterred by your apparent familiarity. To hold
a drop of water and meditate mindfully on it for a moment is always
refreshing, an awakening act. Observe how the energy in the water is visible in its vibrations. This is a
reflection of the energy manifest in each of the droplet’s atoms. Hold
it in the sunlight. See how it reflects myriad glittering suns. See it
flash with the colours of the rainbow. It is a reminder of the scale and variety of our universe(s). Feel your mind touch and engage with the fuller potential of the
droplet.There are universe(s) of possibilities in the droplet. You could
drink it so its molecules pass through your bodies cells and out again,
some on your breath, some through your skin and other might end up in
the sewer system. Or you might just hold the droplet until it evaporates
directly into the atmosphere where some of its atoms might travel as
water vapour around the planet in a few days ,perhaps to fall as rain
that enables grass to grow or as snowflakes that reflect solar
radiation. Or you could directly drop it high in a mountain stream that
fills a lake that drives a huge electrical turbine that has the
potential to make motors run in factories and stoves to warm in homes
and computer screens to glow so you can watch and read this… The droplet can remind us that energy is what was, what is and what ever
could be. And that our mind is intimately involved with the
manifestation of that potential. Perhaps you are now reminded and are filled with a sense of the universe of
potential in a rain drop. And if not I bet your mind is still trying to
say “OK I know all this – get on with it you boring old fart”. If
you are one of the latter folk then you may well at this point dismiss
the following definition of energy as meaningless. In short: “What is energy? Answer: energy is the potential of the
universe(s).” And while we are appreciating the power and knowledge crystallised in the
“energy” symbol I will make brief reference to another equally vital
symbol – the “power” symbol. The question “What is power?”
begins another amazing story of equally immense drama. I will restrict
myself to suggesting that the perhaps the most helpful answer to this
great question is that power is the rate that the potential of the
universe(s) is manifest. Hear the story of the “power” symbol some
other time and decide if you agree. Now is the story of the “energy” symbol and now is the point at which
the high drama begins. We are about to go deeper into our pscyhes and
explore the interface of our mind and energy. This will require great
strength, integrity and perserverance. So before we embark on this next
stage in our journey in search of the nature of energy perhaps we had
reflect for one more moment on where we have been this far. Stop. Give a moment. Stand under the heavens at night and gaze out into the
galaxies of stars and feel their spaces fill your spirit. Or lie in the
grass and reflect on the continual change and near eternal variety of
forms of the clouds in the sky. Or become as one with the effervescent
dance of the sunlight on the oceans. Or listen to song on the winds and
waters flowing by. Or reflect on the mountains, raindrops and stardust
in a grain of sand held in the hand. All this is the potential of the universe manifest. This is energy.
Bounteous. Everchanging. Transforming. Fresh. Mysterious. Wonderful.
And our experience of this now exists because your mind accepted the
invitation of my mind to give a moment, to still our thoughts and to
share the experience of the fuller potential of our existence. Now
charged with awe and mindful of this vast potential I trust we are ready
to journey to the interface of mind and energy. As we enter the mind we find the above experience is alive . The mind is
alive with the sense of immense power and variety as manifest in the far
reaches of galaxies of stars, the waves glittering to the horizon, the
flow of song within song within song, the universe in each grain of
sand…there is a sense of immenseness and much reason to feel grateful.
So how is it our minds become filled with fear, with a sense of deprivation
and we become cramped with desperation? How is it we experience
“energy crises”, “energy failures”,
“energy collapses”, “energy outs” “energy crashes”
“energy threats” “energy fears” etc? Observe how even as I use these symbols our body form is transformed and
reflects a sudden shock weight of worry and doubt. That is the power of
symbols. In my use of them in this paragraph we are becoming reminded in
fear, hopelessness, disempowerment, a sense of loss… So how is it that the energy symbol loses its power to remind us of
the wonder and immensity of creation?
Here we see a pristine lake framed by glorious
snowclad mountains. Feel the expansiveness, the agelessnes, the
vitality, the energy of this. Now
step back so that we can examine it more closely. What is this? “Only
Meridian Energy has certified carbon neutral electricity. Keeping
New Zealand New Meridian Energy.” What is this stuff called Meridian Energy? Is it the apex of energy? The
peak of energy? The pinacle of energy? The highest point of power,
splendour wealth? The climax of energy? Just what is Meridian Energy?
Move back one further step and we find this glorious vision is simply an
advertisement at the airport of New Zealand’s Capital City,
Wellington. It is actually part of a sophisticated PR Spin, a promotion
of the use of these vastly inefficient and polluting devices called
jets, machines designed to destroy our remaining mineral oil reserves on
scale. Listen to/feel this bone-shaking roar and smell the pollution.
Each of these devices uses the equivalent of a multi megawatt electrical
generation plant going full blast just to lift a few people off the
ground for a few hours. Its like there are nearly half a million men
labouring non stop for an hour to keep these devices in the air for that
hour. The reality is Meridian Energy is simply an industrial corporation that
generates and retails Bulk-electrical products. It is no more energy and
no less energy than any other element of the universe(s). What we are
seeing here is a concerted attempt to destroy our vision of the glorious
nature of energy by a bunch of misery mongers in the form of the small
and powerful group of merchant bankers who fund these corporations. Now I employ the misery symbol advisedly – these merchant bankers
generate great misery as we will see. This advertisement at the airport of our Capital City in New Zealand is
actually designed to serve the miserable interests of these merchant
bankers on a number of levels. They are attempting to obscure the fact
that jets are polluting, highly destructive devices. They are attempting
to re-engineer all our associations of the energy symbol with
vitality and the bounteousness
of the universe(s) with the products they trade – in particular Bulk
generated electricity and fossil fuels. And in this they have been remarkably successful. Look what else they have
done to our minds. They have filled our minds with a great clutter of
what I call Energy Gobbledygook. Energy
Gobbledygook is all the text ,the talk, the pictures, the cartoons and
other symbol uses that work to generate images in us associating the energy
symbol with Bulk-generated electricity and fossil fuels. This is summed
up in the two equations: Energy = Bulk-gen electricity; Energy = fossil fuels. You don’t believe me? Then lets check out again that very strange, very
peculiar wiki definition of energy: “It
may also be used in economics to describe the part of the market where
energy itself is harnessed and sold to consumers.” What is this reality? Turn on the radio or television, search on the
Internet, open your local broadsheet and out gushes “energy experts”
and “energy journalists” and “energy ministers” and “energy
spokespeople” all babbling about “the energy economy” and “the
energy sector” and “energy stocks” and “energy markets” and
“energy trades” and “energy futures” and “energy rises” and
“energy falls” and what are they talking about – a couple of
energy forms that the merchant bankers make their main trades on. And
almost invariably those forms are limited to two products:
Bulk-generated electricity and fossil fuels. And in general the first
product is generated from the latter. Typical business page, this "market data" sample from Bloomberg TV
Typical Government statistics framing of energy.
Maybe acceptance of this ethos is so embedded in the structure of your brain
wiring now that you are saying. “So what, this is how it has always
been and anyway what does it matter?” Well, for a start, it has not always been like this. Sure humans have
dreamed of somehow circumventing the Conservation Principle of Energy
since we first realised we are mortal. We all know of the amazing and
ingenious attempts to create perpetual motion machines and elixors of
eternal youth. The trades in these products have been as vast as the
failures of these products. We laugh at the stupidity of other people
that allows them to get fooled into buying them. Well, dear friends, prepare to laugh at our own stupidity. We are part of an
even greater con. As yourself, “What is my response when someone says
mineral oil and gasoline are energy?”
Do I just accept this as true without thought or reflection? Or
do I say, “That idea is the work of a pscyotic mind, of a psychopathic
mind, of a dangerous loon”. Don’t beat yourself up if you suddenly realise your brain has been wired
up to accept without question the equations “Energy = mineral
oil/gas” or Energy = gasoline/petrol” or for that matter “energy =
fossil fuels”. You were born into a culture that is now founded on
these equations. It is a culture two or three generations old now, even
five or six generations if you are from Europe and the USA. It is a
belief system that has enabled the human population to grow
exponentially from one billion to nearly seven billion in that short
time. And if you do a search of your local legislation, as I have of New
Zealand’s Parliament you will find that this abuse of the energy
symbol only became imbedded in the statute books in the last two
generations and lo, we suddenly had Ministries of Energy, Ministers of
Energy, National Energy Conservation Strategies etc. And you don’t
have to dig far to find this is that never-never land of Economists’
Energy, in this case Energy = fossil fuels/Bulk-generated electricity. May I with all humility suggest you should be very, very concerned to rewire
your brain, challenging work as it may be, because the continuing
acceptance of these flawed equations means impending disaster, the
iminent implosion of our credit systems, the explosion of inflation and
the general collapse of our civic structures amidst war and disease.
These flawed equations contain the potential to generate a catastrophic
and sudden collapse of civilisation in which billions of human beings
perish. So be concerned. And know the rewards of reconfiguring your
neural networks are greater than you can imagine.
Here are pristine blue skies and what pure light clouds drifting by.
And here is a young tree.
See it grow. Hear the birds start singing. See the ferns sprout. See the forest grow. What beautiful butterflies begin to flit through this lush landscape. Are we witnessing the birth of life?
Step back so we can see more closely and we find we are at
Genesis Energy. Genesis Energy? Ah, you exclaim, so this is the fount
from which all energy comes ? The beginning of all? Well actually no. Again the miserable reality is that Genesis Energy is
simply just another industrial corporation that generates and retails
Bulk-electrical products. It is no more the beginning or end of energy
than any other element of the universe(s). Again what we are seeing here
is another attempt to destroy our vision of the glorious nature of
energy by that bunch of misery mongers in the form of the small and
powerful group of merchant bankers who fund these corporations. Here is another glimpse of their vision of the world, of energy. This is what they would have our children believe. This is an “education module” the same misery mongers at Genesis Energy inflicted on us for several years. I suspect they would still be destroying science in our communities if people like myself had not exposed their dangerous lies.
As you can see it is an interactive model of a large coal burning device for
making Bulk-generated electricity. It so happens the Genesis Energy
corporation has the largest coal burning plant in New Zealand. This
education resource is supposed to teach our children how it works. The
more coal the children add, the greater the fire in the furnace and the
faster the turbine spins, thus speeding the flow of electrical charges
and the brighter the light bulb shines …What do you notice about it?
That’s right. There is no chimney. The furnace is airless. This device
burns without air! After I complained to our New Zealand Royal Society, one of the architects of this impossible device, you can see a chimney stack and a tiny air inlet was added in this model but only the fainted whiffs of pollution are illustrated. There is no hint of the massive thermal impacts of the device.
I ask you: what sort of energy enables coal to burn in a furnace like this
without the atmosphere? Aha, yes, my dear fellow explorer.
I think we have found an example of this very peculiar energy our
economists believe in. This is their fabled “commercial energy”.
I trust it is obvious to you now why it is dangerous to believe in this
economist/banker energy. Yes, it is makes nonsense of the Conservation
Principle of Energy. And history shows that such behaviour is psychotic
and deeply destructive. The Genesis Energy corporation is saying the combustion equation is: Coal
= useful form of energy. In the real world the combustion equation for this plant is: Coal plus air = useful form of energy. Or to get even more real Coal plus air in combustion = useful form of energy
plus pollution. PR experts and some teachers dismiss this denial of the Conservation
Principle. They smile and say that Genesis Energy is simply engaged in a
bit of pre-emptive damage control so the corporation can remain
competitive, can turn a profit. They and economists say, “Its just The
(Electricity) Market at work.” Sorry. There is no way this is minor. The Genesis Energy corporation is
seriously delusional and they put us all at serious risk. They are
encouraging our children to deny their roles as stewards of the balances
and flows of our atmosphere that sustain us. Human beings have the
capacity to pollute and poison our species out of existence and if
everyone adopts the Genesis Energy psychosis then we will only know pain
and misery. Of course Genesis Energy is not the only corporation that is psychotic like
this. Our media happily propagates the lie at every level. New
Zealand’s dominant coal mining corporation calls itself Solid Energy
with the full support of its nominal owners – New Zealand’s
parliament.
And look at this education module of how a hydro-electric plant supposedly
works. Here Genesis Energy provides us with a superb example of the
psychotic behaviour that is now endemic, especially in countries
like New Zealand, the USA, the UK …This is a perfect example of our
ever expansionist, consumption-based economies. It reflects with
exquisite accuracy the delusion we harbour that credit systems can
expand for ever because mineral oil/gas are boundless.
Check out how Genesis Energy teaches our children about energy. In this
interactive activity we can wind the gate of the dam up and down – see
the higher the gate, the faster the flow of water spinning the turbine
and the brighter the bulb glows (yes, an notice how it is a highly
wasteful incandesdcent bulb). What
is amazing is that you can open the gate as high as the sky and leave it
open for as long as eternity and no cloud scuds by in the sky and the
water level never drops. This
is a world without silt or droughts or floods, a universe without
change. This is the perpetual motion machine humans have always dreamed
of. And of course it does not exist in our universe(s). Again I believe
I think we have discovered this very peculiar energy that economists
believe in. The more refined of the economists call it “renewable
energy” and “sustainable energy”, which of course is also a gross
denial of the Conservation Principle because as we know, energy is
sustained, energy is renewed, energy is. And the Genesis Energy management.. and our media …and our politicians
…and our teachers … all call this corporation, Genesis Energy,
an “energy company”. The fact is the corporation is simply
only a Bulk-gen electricity generator and retailer. That’s all. The tragedy is that when we confuse energy with one of the forms it can
take, whether it be Bulk-generated electricity or mineral oil/gas, we
allow ourselves to be conned into believing these very finite resources
are as bounteous as energy, as though they contain all the potential of
the universe(s). We persist in using them without regard for the great
principles, the wise guides – the Conservation Principle of Energy,
the Uncertainty Principle of Energy. Of course this behaviour is a recipe for misery and we suddenly find the
lakes and the oil lakes run dry. If we survive those events, if we
survive at all, we learn this lesson a very hard way.
Perhaps it is timely to stop for a moment and remind ourselves. The forms
that energy can be manifest in are very, very finite. They are extremely
transient. However energy is unimaginably bounteous. So you can see when
people confuse a form, a resource, with energy we make a grievous error.
We act in most maladaptive and
addictive ways. We forgo a vast range of sustainable options. We lose
our sense of science, of compassion, of bounty, of generosity. Let us now continue our journey of exploration in a spirit of science
knowing energy is bounteous. Here we have Contact Energy, in fact it is
more than that. It is Contact Positive Energy. Now I don’t fully
understand what “positive energy” is. All I know is that the symbol
may enable and express valuable insights into the fuller nature of
energy. In
wiki
we find: “In general
relativity, the positive energy theorem states that, assuming
the dominant
energy condition, the mass of an asymptotically
flat spacetime is non-negative; furthermore, the mass is zero only
for Minkowski
spacetime.” But such expansion of our vision, such enhancement of our spirit is not what
Contact Positive Energy is about. No, yet again it is another one of
these pschopathic corporations whose only interest is making a quick
buck for the merchant banker owners. Again we find Contact Positive
Energy is simply another ruthless Bulk-gen electricity generator and
retailer. Here we see a perfect example of how this psycopathy works. Already we have
seen how these corporations equate energy with the forms, the resources
they control and retail. We have seen how they encourage us to use them
as though they are as bounteous as energy.
Well there comes times when this squanderous use can negatively impact on
their short term profits, for instance when the lakes run dry or the
supply of fossil fuels is reduced for some reason. So what do they do
with the energy symbol? They associate it with scarcity, with
deprivation, with fear. Now you and I know energy is bounteous. We know resources are finite. We
know that it does not matter how much energy we use. What matters is
that we use resources in ways the result in humans remaining in harmony
with the flows and balances of energy that sustain us.
A simple example is we can design our house to maximise its solar
potential and thus use far more energy without a net negative impact on
the flows and balances. This is energy efficiency. What vision of energy does Contact Positive Energy corporation imbue in our children?
For a start note its clever use of cuddly cartoon creatures to
communicate its message. Does this mean this corporation cares, enjoys
science? Sadly no. Contact Positive Energy is exploiting our affection
for our fellow creatures so it can push its miserable, self-serving
vision of energy. See here how it invites our
children, our communities to become involved in what it calls “the
energy debate”, “to provide energy solutions”, to “save the
planet”, “our energy options”. Read this: Home > Residential > Save the planet > The energy debate > Quote “This interactive tool has been
developed by Contact to help people to get a feel for New Zealand’s
various energy choices.” “Please join the debate and try your hand at balancing our energy needs to help determine our energy future - it's all about positive energy.” Read the small print and immediately we step outside our universe(s)
into the arcane world of the economists. Yes, sure enough, energy is
defined as Bulk-gen electricity and fossil fuels. Here’s the nasty bit. See how Contact
Positive Energy defines energy efficiency as a cost. Not as a
benefit. Not as an investment. No, energy efficiency is associated with
costs, with deprivation, with loss. Why would a corporation such as this
make this association? Simple. They make their best profits out of
stressing our national electrical grids at times when we use energy most
inefficiently!
See how they frame the energy debate as “Security of supply versus the price of their product versus environment costs”.
They don’t
encourage us, for instance, to check out our local solar potential,
improve our local building code and install a window so we don’t need
their products. Worse. See how they invite us to “create our own solutions” to what they
call our “energy shortfall” and our “energy gap”. So even as
they associate their product (Bulk-gen electricity) with
a sense of vast bounty here we find them saying associating
energy with serious limits, as extremely finite. What is going on here? Simple. To sum up: The people, the Spin Doctors, the Money Merchants at Contact Positive Energy
know the “energy” symbol is extremely potent in our lives. These
education modules are designed to make us associate the symbol with
their product. In general they want us to consume lots of their product
without much consideration of the more efficient uses of energy. However
they also want to be able to manipulate our consumption rates at times
when they are short of product. At times like that it is mighty
convenient for them to say this is not their problem or a problem with
their product. No, they say energy is a problem, they say we have an
“energy problem”, we have an “energy crises”. They offset the
blame onto energy. This evocation of the “energy crises” symbol triggers subliminal alarm
bells in their customers and the wider community. People become filled
with a sense of urgency, of impending dread, of threat. This overwhelms
their finer judgements and so they deprive themselves of Contact
Energy’s products without questioning their loyalty to the
corporation. From a Spin Doctors point of view, this is a beautiful triple whammy.
Behaviour has been manipulated to maximise corporation profits while the
“energy efficiency” symbol becomes associated with loss,
deprivation, negative emotions. Most important from their point of view,
this use of the “energy symbol” works to abort any political
movement to question how a nation can best use its electrical potential. This abuse of this precious symbol by Contact Postive Energy might be
vaguely sustainable if no one else adopted this pernicious behaviour.
Unfortunately the Contact culture is part of a widespread syndrome, is
part of a pervasive culture. Nearly all our corporations express a
similar hostility to science and work to undermine its foundations in
our schools and communities. It is no mistake that New Zealanders, on
average, consume the resources of our planet at a rate that it would
require several planet Earth’s to sustain our behaviour. Here we have a Government education resource in our schools, purportedly a
“climate change education programme” booklet. Let us check out its
world view. Hmmm. The atmosphere is a greenhouse. Global warming is bad.
Something very consistently weird is going on here. But check this out:
here it tells our children that energy efficiency is about using less
energy. And where do the teachers who wrote this book get this idea
from? A Government agency called the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Authority. What on Earth is this institution? Well its most prominent architects are
the New Zealand Green Party and when I have asked them if the
Conservation Principle of Energy holds they say yes, but add the caveat
that its OK to say humans can conserve energy because that is just a
phrase, just a way of communicating. And then the same Green Party folk
wonder why they cannot get their message across that we need conserve
precious resources. They fail to understand that we don’t need to
conserve resources if we can conserve energy itself as they say. I have asked the Ministers of Energy responsible for the Energy Efficiency
and Conservation Authority what they think it is teaching our children.
They have no coherent response. Indeed recently when I recently asked
the Minister of Energy the question “What is energy?” his office
went to extraordinary lengths not to provide a definition. I doubt the
Minister has ever thought about what his grand title really means and
simply adopts the economist’s definition by default. It is very
revealing that he refused to provide an answer and referred the question
to the Ministry for Economic Development. The truth is the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority is the
manifestation of a major denial of the
Conservation Principle. It promotes a miserable view of the world
and everything unravels from that central flaw, that critical denial. It
destroys science and becomes just a conduit serving the myopic,
short-term interests of the miserable merchant banker folk. For instance everytime our big corporations want people to go without their
electrical products for a period suddenly our media starts hitting the
“energy crisis” siren. The Government hastely injects a few million
dollars into the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority
to give it extra PR Spin power and it is used to run nation-wide
so called “energy efficiency” campaigns that stop the moment it
suits the principle stakeholders of the coporations ie the merchant
bankers. Each time the genuine energy efficiency work performed by the
Authority is negated. Each time the state of science in our communities
has been destroyed on scale. Now I am not really picking on the NZ Green Party, or the Authority for that
matter – go to the website and read the materials of almost every
well-meaning and caring agency – Government or NGO and you will find
the same non-science. You name it– Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth,
World Wildlife fund, Forest and Bird Protection Society,
Consumer NZ, Citizens Advice Bureaux, The Royal Society …
“the Royal Society?” I hear you ask aghast, “Surely the Royal Society
is all about promoting excellence in science, as they claim?” Sorry, the truth is the Royal Society is riddled with Energy Gobbledygook.
Its like all the other agencies mentioned – its just a
respository of economist speak, a conduit for commerical
non-science. Its miserable vision of energy reflects the unsustainable
lifestyles of its members, as does its use of the “science” symbol.
Ah yes, their abuse of the “science” symbol – that is another epic
story for another time. As is this exploration letter I have from the brightest and the best that
our education system produces - New Zealand Broadcasting Standards
Authority. They claim in this letter that our great energy, power and
electricity symbols can be used interchangeably. They are saying they
are all the same. That is another mini epic journey for another time
too. For now this is the story about energy, that stuff we all are so intimate
with and yet struggle to comprehend. I guess there are two things we
should know and I reiterate. One is that the “energy” symbol is
incredibly vital to our existence. We abuse it at our peril.
The people going on and on and on at the moment about the
“current credit crisis” are
really missing the point. What we are witnessing is really the collapse
of a global society because it confuses energy with one of the forms it
can be manifest in – namely mineral oil/gas. As we destroy the
resource we find that this stuff called “economist’s energy” does
not exist at all, it has no potential. Hence our economies are imploding
amidst inflation as mineral oil/gas reserves are depleted. The second is that energy did not begin with our species and will not end
with our species. This story of energy does not end with this video. It
continues in every moment in our lives. It continues in every element of
the universe(s). If we continue to experience a miserable vision of the nature of energy then
our lives are filled with misery, with bitterness, with loss. Our
institutions and corporations tend to become psychopathic monsters. If we open our beings to the fuller potential of the universe(s), if we
embrace more of its myriad options, then we are better able to enjoy a
greater sense of connection and harmony with the flows and balances of
energy in our universe(s), a greater sense of bounty and gratitude. Our
institutions become more founded in science/ democracy/compassion. Such is the power of the energy symbol. Such is the power of the
mind. Which “energy
future” would you prefer to bequeath on your children? Note this is one of a series of videos exploring the potential of our key
symbols. The next one will explore the power symbol and the
following one will explore the electricity symbol. The full
script is at www.bonusjoules.co.nz There you can read suggestions of how you can conserve the amazing potential
of these most glorious of symbols. You do not be have great academic
qualifications to conserve them. All you need is love. The rules of care
are simple. Here are a few of them: v
Live in acceptance of the Principle of the Conservation of Energy, which
advises us that energy can be considered so bouteous that it cannot be
created or destroyed. Embrace that bounty. v
Live in acceptance of the Principle of the Conservation of Energy, which
advises us that energy can be considered so bouteous that it cannot be
created or destroyed. Know that energy, by its very nature is conserved,
is constant. Some resources are more renewable than others. v
Live in acceptance of the Principle of the Conservation of Energy, which
advises us that energy is subject to constant transformation. Avoid
confusing energy with any of the myriad forms it can take, for we are
finite as they are finite. Give each form its own name. v
Live in acceptance of our roles as stewards amidst this continual change –
know the critical issue is that it is not how much energy we use but
rather whether our use of resources, of energy forms, conserves the
balances and flows that sustain humanity. v
Live in acceptance of our roles as stewards amidst this continual change –
accept responsibility with compassion for our perceived misuses of the
universal potential.
Source -jet fuel
consumption http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/activities/3203_concorde.html 471 Gallons per hour
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