Energy. That word is so important to so many people around the world. We need energy to power our vehicles, whether that be through petroleum or electricity. We need energy to earn money, whether that be at a factory or by working from home. Energy is incredibly important to the world, to individuals, and to moving forward as a collective society. Without energy, and the advancements in the energy sector that we have had over the years, the world would be a much different place. However, keeping up with energy demands is not easy. Finding ways to provide energy to everyone is not easy. Put in simple terms, energy is very complex thing. With complexity comes issues. No matter how hard we work on these issues, sometimes the solution just never comes. Hopefully that is not the case for energy in the European Union. There are so many issues plaguing the EU when it comes to energy. There are volatile prices on imports, which the EU is very much dependent on, and there is concern with global warming, which the entire world is facing. With so many issues plaguing them, can the EU become sustainable when it comes to energy? I think yes. I think this due to a couple of different reasons. The first of which is the fact that renewable energy sources are starting to become more and more popular, less and less expensive, and so many people are working to advance this technology. Although it might take a decent amount of time, change can and will happen. The shift from coal, gas, and other non-renewable energy sources will take some time. These sources are so easy to depend on and they have been working for years. However, everything must come to an end and we all must advance forward. This leads me to my second reason. The EU and the EU Member States realize things must change. They have been acting. They realize that they need to stop spending so much on energy imports and they realize that renewable energy sources are the future. When is that future? It is hard to tell. There are many movies and television shows from the past that predicted we would have flying cars by now, but that isn’t the case. Technology evolves extremely fast, but the things around it change at a much slower rate. Besides, it is better to avoid rushing into energy sustainability as doing so could cause many more problems. As the old saying goes “good things come to those who wait.” Patience is key in this situation, but that doesn’t mean sitting around and waiting for things to happen or for things to fall into place. There always needs to be some sort of action being taken to keep “the ball rolling.” This could mean the passing of legislation or the investment into renewable energy. It could also mean a wide range of things. They just can’t stop. The EU faces many challenges. These challenges, however, almost always have solutions.
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