**1. Introduction**

This chapter is a perspective chapter—on the topic of renewable energyresources or renewables, and how do we think about renewable energy and a renewables-powered world? One way to think about renewable energy is that it is a *form* of energy such as solar or wind that, unlike fossil energy that takes millions of years for its renewal, is being renewed diurnally. It should be emphasized that energy is never consumed (thus never needs to be renewed), and only the form of an energy, once it is transformed into heat form, needs to be renewed. Therefore, the vast difference between the times required for renewing the two kinds of energy is significant in talking about fossil energy and renewable energy. Historically, other kinds of transition from one kind of energy form to another kind of energy form have happen [1]. Nonetheless, the current transition is different; characterizing this transition from fossil energy regime to renewable energy regime as *energy* transition is, this essay argues, misleading and totally inadequate.

The total solar energy absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land masses is approximately 3,850,000 exajoules (EJ) per year, of which it is estimated that the annual potential of solar energy converted into useful forms was 1,575–49,837 EJ still several times larger than the total world energy consumption, which was 559.8 EJ in 2012. If the annual need of energy by the world is about 560 EJ, only 0.015% of the total solar energy received by the Earth, the standard narrative of framing the energy problem is that we are blessed with the gift of 3,850,000 EJ/yr. energy input from the Sun and the challenge is how to convert a fraction of that energy input into useful forms of energy. Once that is achieved, problem solved!

I shall argue that this is a wrong way to frame the issue. The article's premise is that the idea of transition from fossil fuel energy to renewables is not just the transition from one form of energy resources to another form of energy resources; looking at renewables as a form of inexhaustible energies, or more correctly as a form of energies that are being readily renewed, is not sufficient reason for justifying energy transition: Instead,

the transition is necessary for overcoming an existential threat to humans rather than for solving the eventual shortfall of fossil energy (which cannot be readily renewed);

*the transition is a transition from the notion of "energy and its consumption" to the notion of "entropy-growth-potential (EGP) management"; that is, the transition is a transition from looking at our world in terms of "machines as machines powered by energy" to that in terms of "EGP-powered systems and their management."*

As President Kennedy said (see **Figure 1**), "In a crisis, be aware of the danger but recognize the opportunity," the **purpose** of the essay is to make the point that this current energy transition is different from all previous ones [1] and this unique crisis of carbon-emission induced global warming is a crisis too "precious" to waste for us not to formulating solutions to deal with the human existential-risk [2] that is threatened not just by fossil fuels shortfall. EGP management and systems-thinking are two elements that'll help us to seize the opportunities.

To make the case, this essay makes use of a combination of **methods** including:


#### **Figure 1.**

*J.F. Kennedy once said, "The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis'. One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger—but recognize the opportunity."*

