--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Energy use is merely a means to many…" description: "\"Energy use is merely a means to many rewarding ends: economic security, education, health.\" — Vaclav Smil" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/vaclav-smil-11559_climate_energy-use-is-merely-a-means-to-many-rew_469694.jpg" --- # Energy use is merely a means to many rewarding ends… ![“Energy use is merely a means to many rewarding ends: economic security, education, health.” quote by Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/vaclav-smil-11559_climate_energy-use-is-merely-a-means-to-many-rew_469694.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/vaclav-smil-11559_climate_energy-use-is-merely-a-means-to-many-rew_469694.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/vaclav-smil-11559_climate_energy-use-is-merely-a-means-to-many-rew_469694.jpg) > “Energy use is merely a means to many rewarding ends: economic security, education, health.” [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Energy is a tool that enables key societal goals like security, education, and health. **In simple terms:** Energy helps achieve many important goals. Key Takeaway Invest wisely in energy for broader benefits. Themes energy development economics health education Mood optimistic strategic Type environmental economic When to use this quote - urban planning - healthcare systems - educational funding - economic strategy - climate initiatives Key Concepts sustainable development resource allocation public policy Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance energy use with sustainability? - What policies ensure energy supports all sectors? A Different Perspective Energy scarcity can limit progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Ends Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends-economic-4062735/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Energy use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy-use/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Rewarding Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rewarding-ends-4062736/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [The history of energy use is a sequence of transitions to sources that are cheaper, cleaner, and more flexible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/the-history-of-energy-use-is-a-sequence-of-transitions-to-sources/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [We will never know what anyone is really like, until everyone has economic security and doesn't have to answer to anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/we-will-never-know-what-anyone-is-really-like-until-everyone-has/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [To help U.S. workers, farmers and businesses, and Americas long-term economic security, Congress should take decisive action to bring about fair trade with China,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-baca/to-help-u-s-workers-farmers-and-businesses-and-americas-long-term/) [Joe Baca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-baca/) > [ In Stage I, divorces were not allowed, so men's \[sexual\] affairs did not put women's economic security in jeopardy; in Stage II, affairs could… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/in-stage-i-divorces-were-not-allowed-so-men-s-sexual-affairs-did-not/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [Black men, Indian men, and gay men have all have something in common: They do not provide an economic security blanket for women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/black-men-indian-men-and-gay-men-have-all-have-something-in-common/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [It is not till it is discovered that high individual incomes will not purchase the mass of mankind immunity from cholera, typhus, and ignorance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-h-tawney/it-is-not-till-it-is-discovered-that-high-individual-incomes-will-not/) [R. 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MacKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-j-c-mackay/) > [We need a proportional quantitative understanding of energy use, for everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-griffith/we-need-a-proportional-quantitative-understanding-of-energy-use-for/) [Saul Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-griffith/) > [The sunlight ... that strikes Earth’s land surface in two hours is equivalent to total human energy use in a year. While much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-flavin/the-sunlight-that-strikes-earth-s-land-surface-in-two-hours-is/) [Christopher Flavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-flavin/) > [When we learn how to store electricity, we will cease being apes ourselves; until then we are tailless orangutans. You see, we should utilize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/when-we-learn-how-to-store-electricity-we-will-cease-being-apes/) [Thomas A. 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How we build cities over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-steffen/cities-generate-most-of-the-global-economy-and-most-of-its-energy-use/) [Alex Steffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-steffen/) ## More by Vaclav Smil > [Meat eaters don't like me because I call for moderation, and vegetarians don't like me because I say there's nothing wrong with eating meat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/meat-eaters-don-t-like-me-because-i-call-for-moderation-and/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [America tends to assume Silicon Valley-style innovators can drive quick and transformative changes, but even Silicon Valley's would-be masters of the universe have discovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/america-tends-to-assume-silicon-valley-style-innovators-can-drive/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [When you talk in terms of electricity, renewable is very important. Hydro in Manitoba. Hydro in Sweden. Wind in Denmark. Of course, those are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/when-you-talk-in-terms-of-electricity-renewable-is-very-important/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [...no matter how complex or affluent, human societies are nothing but subsystems of the biosphere, the Earth's thin veneer of life, which is ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/no-matter-how-complex-or-affluent-human-societies-are-nothing-but/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [In every society, manufacturing builds the lower middle class. If you give up manufacturing, you end up with haves and have-nots, and you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/in-every-society-manufacturing-builds-the-lower-middle-class-if-you/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [ Everyone \[in higher education\] was what I call drillers of deeper wells. 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When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/i-ve-read-about-80-books-a-year-for-the-past-50-years-i-come-from/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [“I wrote this book because I wanted to narrate the great, and a truly nation-building, story of US manufacturing—and because I believe that without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/i-wrote-this-book-because-i-wanted-to-narrate-the-great-and-a-truly/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [Apple! Boy, what a story. No taxes paid, everything made abroad—yet everyone worships them. This new iPhone, there’s nothing new in it. Just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/apple-boy-what-a-story-no-taxes-paid-everything-made-abroad-yet/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [A useful analogy is to see traditional societies as relying on instantaneous (or minimally delayed) and constantly replenished solar income, while modern civilization is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/a-useful-analogy-is-to-see-traditional-societies-as-relying-on/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [People shouldn't be living in certain places - on earthquake faults or on flood plains. But they do, and there are consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/people-shouldn-t-be-living-in-certain-places-on-earthquake-faults-or/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [Your past always leads to who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/your-past-always-leads-to-who-you-are/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) > [I live in a province where we have the cheapest electricity in North America - indeed, in the Western world - but all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-smil/i-live-in-a-province-where-we-have-the-cheapest-electricity-in-north/) [Vaclav Smil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) [Explore all 59 Vaclav Smil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-smil/) ## More Climate quotes > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. 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