University of Pennsylvania Essay Questions With energy sources being depleted at an incredible rate, the need to engineer practical, renewable sources of energy is becoming increasingly important. In only 100-200 years, oil reserves will be nearly used up, and natural gas will be used up shortly after that. As demands for energy increase with the development of the third world and since energy is necessary to the prosperity of all nations, engineers must devise practical, affordable, and environmentally sound solutions to the upcoming energy crisis. I do not believe the future of renewable energy research will lie i