Considerations on Sustainable Development and Energy Security

Abstract

The current views and methods associated with sustainability in energy in all steps of the life cycle tend to focus on direct elements and the first tier cascade of related impacts or potential problems. There is little examination into secondary, tertiary, or even higher order terms in the overall sustainability model. As has often been the case in the past in other endeavors, we are often too ready to suggest the higher order terms of an equation are of less impact and can be removed for clarity and handling ease. This paper will discuss the higher order effects of energy security where the KISS principle strips out critical knowledge we must incorporate to have for a more encompassing view of real vulnerability.