Energy bills form a sizeable part of the budget of any household, public institution or business. At home, this includes costs of heating, cooking and hot water. It is therefore very important to keep an eye on the energy prices. The author presents the current energy prices, trends in this area, significance of technological solutions, threats and their environmental impact.
As long as humans operate within the boundaries of the biosphere delineated by nature, nothing poses a threat to the natural environment except diseases that devastate the population. When humans started tapping into natural reserves beyond this biosphere, such as fuels, the era of industrial civilisation began. First came fossil fuels, then nuclear energy; and nature did not create mechanisms to protect against the related adverse environmental impact. The author presents the history of the extraction of fossil fuels, forecasts of energy requirements on a worldwide scale, and related considerations concerning greenhouse gas emissions. The author underlines the necessity of replacing traditional power generators with generators that are neutral in terms of greenhouse gases, such as fuel cells.