At a media event in Australia on Monday, Mar. 23, the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, warned of the world’s looming energy crisis. They said that the US-Israel war on Iran, combined with the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, has brought on an energy crunch to rival the twin oil shocks of the 1970s. Birol remarked on the lack of urgency in a Mar. 20 meeting involving a Paris-based intergovernmental organization; “I thought the depth of the problem was not was not well-appreciated by the decision-makers around the world.”

While the energy crisis seems far off and irrelevant to the daily lives of individuals, it remains imperative that individuals stay informed on global happenings. This will ensure they are sensitive to the plights of others who are more directly affected by these events. It is also likely that the effects of large-scale events like the energy crisis will trickle down and affect the lives of people in individual communities, and it is important to be prepared for this possibility.