General information:
Many scientists contributed to the commercialisation of electricity. Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb around 1878. However, the idea of static electricity goes back to the Ancient Greeks (600 BC).
Pro – argument | Contra – argument |
Electricity majorly contributes to our current living standards. | Humanity is highly dependent on electricity. |
Many machines work with electricity. | Blackouts can cost lives (e.g. in hospital). |
Hard labour can be replaced by robots and machines. | Most major forms of energy production are linked to global warming:
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Digitisation and globalisation are possible due to the invention of electricity. | Currently, there still is no real solution for storing energy efficiently in the case of excess production. |
Without electricity, our world would not function properly anymore. | Many people do not want wind turbines in their area. (NIMBY – “Not in my backyard” → A colloquialism referring to the situation when people objects to the siting of something perceived as unpleasant or hazardous in the area where they live, especially while raising no such objections to similar developments elsewhere) |
Ethical implications:
The use of nuclear power plants is always connected to the risk of endangering numerous lives. Some argue that the benefits outweigh the risks, as the chances of a malfunction might be rather small. However, there are no real practical solutions on how the risks of nuclear power plants can be reduced and how renewable energy can be stored.
Humanity has to either find a solution for efficiently producing green energy or reduce their energy usage in order to minimise emitting greenhouse gases (which is unlikely to happen). However, there are many countries in which people only have electricity available for short periods of time. They have learned how to efficiently use energy when they have it and how to survive when they do not have it. It is unlikely that people in industrialised countries will reduce their energy usage like that. The opposite is the case, as people aspire to live the lifestyle of those in industrialised countries.
As of now, we are favouring our living standards instead of the wellbeing of our planet. Ironically, the wellbeing of the planet is a very important factor if we are to uphold our standard of living.