Emperor Penguin Preparing to Dive off Riiser-Larsen Ice Shelf (Image on Alamy)
The emperor penguin (aptenodytes fosteri) is the largest of the penguin species and lives in Antarctica in large colonies. Emperor penguins live in the harshest of climates in Antarctica, where the temperatures can get down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit and with strong winds up to 89 mph, developing a sizable wind chill factor. The penguin breeding colony stays together during the harsh winter, constantly churning the boundaries of the colony, sustaining the group.
The female emperor penguin lays one egg, which is nurtured by the male while the female returns to sea to fish. The male will then nurture the young chick in his brood pouch. Later, both parents take turns hiking to the ice shore, diving into the Antarctic waters, in search of food. Fish and crustaceans such as krill provide sustenance for the penguin, energy to keep it going.
This source of penguin energy is available from “the deep”. Lots of krill. Lots of fish. Lots of energy to power penguins. One catch. A predator. The leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx). The leopard seal is a large mammal (between 400 and 1300 pounds) that attacks the emperor penguin, often at the edge of the ice where it can make opportunistic kills. This video by BBC Earth shows the interaction between a leopard seal and emperor penguins.
Emperor Penguins Lining up to Dive into water at Halley Bay Ice Edge (Image on Alamy)
A decision by an emperor penguin to dive into the water at ice’s edge is a decision to face a risk of being killed by the leopard seal or starve. Emperor penguins will accumulate in a line at the edge of the ice, waiting to take off, en-masse, into the water to feed. A tipping point is reached at some point where the shared risk of the group warrants all exiting off the ice edge into the cold deep, in quick succession. Feeding takes place in the open water and the emperor penguins quickly launch themselves through the air as they exit the water to land on the ice edge. They are playing the odds.
The emperor penguin’s appearance manages its risk to a certain extent. The emperor penguin’s black and white exterior helps to mitigate risk. The penguin’s black back appears lost looking downward against the black background of the marine deep. Looking upward from below, the emperor penguin’s white belly may be lost in the white glare of the water surface. This provides some degree of camouflage.
The penguins’ group decision, so neatly balanced in their emperor penguin-risk-matrix minds conceptually captures the “weighing of risks” issue as regards satisfying their energy needs. The penguin needs to take risks in order to eat, to supply energy, in order to live.
Food, after all, supplies energy that keeps us in business just as the various types of fossil fuels, nuclear energy and alternative energy sources provide energy for us to meet our various needs.
Our planet seems to shrink around us with population growth, economic development, energy demand and climate change challenges. As we seek to manage our lifestyles in this challenging environment, we are not unlike the emperor penguin. We face risk in pursuing our energy wants and needs.
We can analyze the risk patterns associated with the various energy choices that we have. These risk patterns vary considerably depending on which mix of energy resources are employed.
From studying the emperor penguin and the leopard seal we know the emperor penguins will continue to feed, but so will the leopard seal. Some emperor penguins, despite their various risk protection strategies, will get eaten. It is important to note that in probabalistic sense, that we know that some penguins will be eaten by the leopard seal, but we don’t know which specific penguins will “bite the dust”.
Similarly, as we explore various energy choices, we need to study the associated risks. We need to anticipate risks that may happen and proactively build defenses against them. However, we are kidding ourselves if we think that we can forever eliminate all such risks. It is the nature of evolving life to defeat such a worthy goal, as accidents can happen. It may be possible to predict the fact that accidents may happen while at the same time not being able to pinpoint exactly where or when they may occur. This consideration lends itself to a more global view of risk management, rather than focusing on any one particular potentiality.
In considering the risks associated with expanding energy sources to meet demand, its also appropriate to bring up ways to reduce energy demand, to become more efficient, to do more with what we have. This option becomes more attractive as the costs of the alternative options increases.
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