Isitpossibletoprotecttheenvironmentwhenmanycountriesrequireincreasingamountsofenergytoprogress?Inaworldthatseemsincreasinglyconsciousofcarbonemissionsandglobalwarming,itmaybeironicaltonotethatinthepasttenyearssincetheKyotoProtocol,carbondioxideemissionshaveactuallyriseninsteadoffallen,andareshowingnosignsofslowingdownanytimesoon.Withdevelopingeconomiesvoraciouslyputtingonsteamanddevelopedonesseekingtofurtherexpandtheirproductivecapacities,theworlddemandforenergyhasrisenexponentially.Oilandothercarbon-basedfuelsarethemostwidely-usedfuelsduetotheirefficiencyandeaseofuse.Duetothistrend,environmentalistshaveraisedconcernsthatinthepursuitofgeneratingmoreenergytofueleconomicgrowth,manycountrieshaveneglectedenvironmentalprotection,leadingtodamageoflocalecosystems.Ontheotherhand,othershavearguesthatrecentcampaignsbygovernmentstousealternativefulesourcesandreduceemissionsaretakingeffect.Despitethesearguments,Ibelievethatifcurrenttrendsofconsumptionweretoprevail,itwouldbeimpossibleforcountriestoprotecttheenvironmentnomatterwhatpoliciestheyimplement.Manydevelopingcountriestodayareconsumingever-increasingquantitiesofenergyinabidtoaggressivelyexpandtheireconomies.Measurestocurbcarbonemissions–ifany–areusuallyhalf-heartedandnotproperlyenforced.TheBRICnations–Brazil,Russia,IndiaandChina–areexperiencingenormousleapsinaggregatedemand.Athrivingeconomywouldnaturallymeanincreasingaffluenceandtheemergenceofawealthymiddle-class.ThisisespeciallytrueforIndiaandChina,whereanincreaseinthenumberofyoung,educatedelitesarerapidlybuyinguphousesandcars,whichareimportantsymbolsofwealthandstatusinthesesocieties.Suchconsumptioninvariablymeansagreaterconsumptionofenergy.Theincreasingaffluencealsomeantthatthepeoplehavefinancialsecurityandthepeaceofmindtoprocreate,leadingtoapopulationboomwhichincreasedtheconsumptionofenergyevenfurther.Itisnotsurprisingthatat1.2billionpeople,Chinaistheworld’smostpopulouscountry,anditsenergyconsumptionisrankedamongtheworld’shighest.EventhoughtheChinesegovernmentisstarti