We're going through a civilizational-scale metamorphosis. It's a broad-range process that happens every few generations or centuries and reshapes so many aspects of society that a new one has risen on the other side once it's over. As history shows, this will play out through a long period going ahead.

But events are already underway and being felt. More is to come. While developments in COVID-19 and sways in the economy, finance, and politics galvanize attention and monopolize M.S.M., the energy sector is undergoing profound transformations that will significantly impact our lifestyle. Because, well, everything runs on energy.

This model transition has been going on for some time now. Like many other events taking place everywhere else, it's accelerating and already showing through cracks in the system, compounding the instability sweeping the U.S. and the rest of the world.

There isn't much we can do about the big scheme. We're just passengers, really. But understanding what's happening and how this shake-up can affect us is still important. To see the forest for the trees, though, we must first try and connect some dots.

Energy is the basis of modern civilization

The development of sanitation enabled the expansion of cities. Common diseases were eradicated with the help of sewage and treated water. Humankind could finally enjoy the productivity and other benefits afforded by large concentrations of different people living and working together. But the intensive use of hydrocarbons and the electrification boom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries changed everything.