Switch On

May is upon us. In the northern hemisphere we’re in the middle of spring, a time of awakening and new beginnings. Here in Oklahoma, the sun is shining, the grass is green and the roses are in bloom. But there’s another side to spring in Oklahoma: tornado season. And for many of us, the present situation looks more like foreboding thunderheads, hail, fierce winds and sheets of rain. COVID-19 continues to spread illness and uncertainty. Far too many of us have either been directly affected by this virus or know someone who has. None of us has escaped the impact of a staggering collapse in oil prices. Graduation has been canceled. This month looks more sinister than sunny. And all of us – newly minted graduates, mid- career and seasoned veterans alike – are asking, “What’s next?”

Scott Tinker, director of the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin, will grant no quarter about either the history and benefits of energy in our lives or its potential to improve our future. “Access to affordable, reliable energy is the foundation of modern economies,” he said. This subject has been on his mind of late, for he has spent the last two years studying those who are, as he puts it, suffering from “energy poverty.” Some 2.5 billion people worldwide live in some form of energy poverty today. “Access to secure energy,” Tinker said, “impacts all other major humanitarian issues, including hunger, shelter, clean water, education, healthcare, human migration, empowerment of women, and more. Those who do not have energy access suffer from energy poverty.”