Energy Fundamentalism
Welcome to the the ideal world, where everyone at birth is given an irrevocable right to some fixed amount of power - for now, let's say 1 kilowatt of power, to be used as they see fit - 24/7/365 for as long as they live. They could choose to use all, part or none of it, lend part or all of it to others, but they can always get it back whenever they want - it would be their irrevocable birthright. To keep things stable in the long term, no one can pass their birthright to power on to others after they die. This would amount to an amalgamation of "cap and trade" the "death tax". Something for everyone.
So with about 7 billion people in the world, that would come to 7 billion kilowatts, or 70,000 gigawatts. The U.S. Dept of Energy's Energy Information Agency says the entire world will consume "primary" energy at a rate of about 15,000 gigawatts this year. So a 1 kilowatt birthright is in the ball park. So now what?
Now we've got a benchmark, something to compare our own, individual energy use to. The next question: what is our individual energy use rate anyway - compared to that 1 kilowatt each ideal person would ideally get?
OK, 1 kilowatt continuous comes to 8,760 kilowatt-hours a year. That's cause there are 8,760 hours in a year (trust me on this). So that's 730 kilowatt hours a month. But that's for everything, home, car - everything. Don't forget to divide your home use by the number of people in your home. Gasoline is easy, just count the gallons use in a year - you do keep track of that, don't you? You could try to figure your share of all the energy consumed at your workplace, and that consumed to produce all the things you eat and buy. There's also your share of all the energy that goes into the infrastructure of civilization, like for roads, factories, aircraft carriers, etc. But it's best to forget all that for now, it'll just make your head hurt! Focus on what's easy: like the energy you use for things you get bills for. That's it: follow your bills! Start with your home and your car.
Don't have time? Not a problem. If you live in the U.S., in a red state or blue state, you're probably over that 730. So now what? Go on a diet? Switch to "low-energy" energy or something? I know, let's up that birthright! Yeah, let's double or quadruple it! While we're at it, let's run a background check on those D.O.E. numbers. Find a way to get that agency to bump them up like they do for the number of new jobs added or lost in the economy each month. Let's shoot for a factor of ten. How about it?
So with about 7 billion people in the world, that would come to 7 billion kilowatts, or 70,000 gigawatts. The U.S. Dept of Energy's Energy Information Agency says the entire world will consume "primary" energy at a rate of about 15,000 gigawatts this year. So a 1 kilowatt birthright is in the ball park. So now what?
Now we've got a benchmark, something to compare our own, individual energy use to. The next question: what is our individual energy use rate anyway - compared to that 1 kilowatt each ideal person would ideally get?
OK, 1 kilowatt continuous comes to 8,760 kilowatt-hours a year. That's cause there are 8,760 hours in a year (trust me on this). So that's 730 kilowatt hours a month. But that's for everything, home, car - everything. Don't forget to divide your home use by the number of people in your home. Gasoline is easy, just count the gallons use in a year - you do keep track of that, don't you? You could try to figure your share of all the energy consumed at your workplace, and that consumed to produce all the things you eat and buy. There's also your share of all the energy that goes into the infrastructure of civilization, like for roads, factories, aircraft carriers, etc. But it's best to forget all that for now, it'll just make your head hurt! Focus on what's easy: like the energy you use for things you get bills for. That's it: follow your bills! Start with your home and your car.
Don't have time? Not a problem. If you live in the U.S., in a red state or blue state, you're probably over that 730. So now what? Go on a diet? Switch to "low-energy" energy or something? I know, let's up that birthright! Yeah, let's double or quadruple it! While we're at it, let's run a background check on those D.O.E. numbers. Find a way to get that agency to bump them up like they do for the number of new jobs added or lost in the economy each month. Let's shoot for a factor of ten. How about it?
6 Comments:
I think the thermal energy content of a gallon of gas is equivalent to about 35 kWhs, so your budget of 8760 kWh/yr is equivalent to about 250 gallons of gas per year (or about 5000 miles in a lousy 20 mpg car). Of course, I have to admit, I just burned 200 gallons of gas driving on vacation through Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Not to mention a flight to Europe this summer, too. Yikes, I'm way over the 1 kW budget. However, my guilty conscience has motivated me to bike to work all week and buy CO2 offset credits for all my reckless vacationing greenhouse emissions.
I like the idea of individuals getting paid for trading some of their birthright energy consumption quota to other energy greedy individuals. Then, for the first time, someone could actually be paid for sleeping in the sun all day like a cat, enjoying a limited energy intensity existence.
Indeed, being paid for sunbathing is the highest possible aspiration.
I have a feeling that the DOE/EIA figures I used don't count all energy humans actual consume. There is a footnote that indicated that it may be only "marketed" energy. The solution lies in seeing how high we can get that total world consumption number to be. I actually don't drive more than 5,000 miles a year, and get a little more than 20mpg, but then what? I'll barely keep this computer running! Do you know anyone at EIA?
Isn't 7 billion kilowatts equal to 7 megawatts, instead of 70,000 megawatts? In which case, the status quo rate of consumption, according to DOE, is more than 2000 times that of the proposed 1 kW budget. I'm not arguing for maintaining the status quo, but couldn't you wave your invisible paw and give us a few more kilowatts as a birth right?
Or, for another way to look at it:
There are 1.5 X 10^14 square meters of land area on earth
If we dedicate 1/1000 of our land to solar energy generation and we magically hold the population to no more than 7.5 billion
We have 1.5 X 10^11 / 7.5 X 10^9, or 20 square meters of solar energy generation per person.
In the right places, at peak generation, this would be a potential 20 kW per person in solar thermal energy. However, I'm guessing we should derate that to about 1/3 for night time, less than optimal location and weather, and then derate another 1/3 for thermodynamic efficiency of a solar thermal power plant. Still, we are left with about 10% of 20 kW, or 2 kW. Of course, the population might double in the next 50 years, so maybe setting the birth right to 1 kW isn't such a bad idea.
Ooops !
I blew my billions and gigas, etc. Still, shouldn't it be that 7 billion kilowatts equal to 7,000 gigawatts, instead of 70,000 gigawatts? Not as dramatic of a difference, as I had before, but somthing. It puts the 1 kW quota at about half the current consumption, assuming the 15,000 gigawatt number is reasonably accurate.
Oops myself!
Good multiplying . . . and good your-own-mistake-admitting!
Still, we need to get EIA to increase their number for total world comsumption.
Also, to be thorough, the 35 kWh/gallon figure I stated for gasoline doesn't include any of they energy burden of extraction, transportation, refining, etc., so a steady 1 kW is probably equivalent to a fair bit less that 250 gallons per year in gasoline.
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