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Conserve Energy to Sustain Energy Needs for a Growing Population An article from Suite101 I wish to share. Conserve Energy to Sustain Energy Needs for a Growing Population April 19, 2010 Dagmar Barlow Green energy is not the only answer to the energy crisis. Conserving energy may be the best solution to satisfy the energy need of the growing middle class. The middle class population is growing around the globe. China especially is developing at an accelerated pace. The growth of the middle class translates into consumers with a desire for bigger homes and cars. These consumers will buy more new “things” requiring electricity. Consequently, as the standard of living increases around the globe so does the need for energy. In fact, an improved standard of living increases energy consumption more than just population growth. Out of control energy consumption can create serious problems. Without energy our security is compromised. Economies weaken- companies need energy to support growth. And energy use creates challenges to the environment. To many, the environmental impact is the most pressing. How to Support the Growing Middle Class Energy Needs The solution to the energy crisis has usually been to find more oil or use renewable energy. We invest in green energy or alternative energy sources. The major problem with these solutions is that studies show when people have more they use more. This wasteful behavior is referred to as the rebound effect. In the book, The End of Energy Obesity, author Peter Tertzakian describes the rebound effect as, “A societal outcome where efficiency gains in an energy system do not translate into a decrease of source energy consumption." If fact, in many cases more energy is used. So bringing more energy into supply cannot be the only solution. Conserving Energy A better solution to the energy crisis is not to find more energy but to use less. That is, to control and better manage use of energy. Energy management sounds much less desirable to many people. It feels like inaction, which is counter intuitive. It is human nature to view a problem as a call to action. People like to feel they are progressing not dialing back. They work hard for an improved quality of life and a lifestyle filled with creature comforts. Therefore, the answer to the energy problem surely must involve work and innovation. Hidden Cost of Energy Innovation is part of the solution. But what people don’t realize is that they have a tremendous amount of power to save energy. When a person chooses not to use energy, he saves multiples of energy. This is because there are inefficiencies all along the supply chain that brings energy to the user. Consumers are oblivious to the behind the scene process. But along the supply chain massive amounts of energy is lost through extraction, transportation and inefficient use, of energy. Tertzakian explains: “One unit of energy saved by not driving a car translates into about six times the amount of energy you no longer need to pump from a wellhead. In other word, the energy equivalent of one barrel of oil saved by not turning wheels means that we can avoid drilling between six and seven barrels of oil in some politically charged, environmentally sensitive, or geographically extreme location.” For electricity, the possibility for energy savings is even more extreme. For every one unit of electricity not used, 50 units are saved. Large amounts of energy can be saved when people start thinking more about conserving energy, user end first ‒ from the light switch to the coal mine ‒from the wheels to the oil well. This is where the leverage for real energy savings exists. So instead of creating more energy to fill the need of the growing middle class, reversing the process is much more efficient. When we conserve a little energy we save large amounts of primary energy - energy at the source. Technology for conserving energy has already come in many forms. New homes are built to be energy efficiency. Advanced technology saves energy in electrical devices and transportation. And more employers are offering telecommuting positions. More innovation is needed that targets wasteful consumption. New technology must be easy to use or even completely automated. People will adapt to a new way of living if it improves their lifestyle. People do not want to change their lifestyle or be inconvenienced in any way. Any new innovations must address the issue of human nature for people to be compelled to try and improve their energy management. Reference • Peter Tertzakian, The End of Energy Obesity, 2009, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey |
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Hi Ricky, Thanks for posting Dagmar Barlow's/Peter Terzakian Blog/Writings here. The title points to at least two circumstances, energy and population growth. The need to conserve energy is but one circumstance that is exacerbated by a growing population. I would wish for peoples of lesser resources and/or productivity to be able to lift themselves into better circumstances of comfort and well being. As populations in emerging countries grow to middle class status, I am reminded that some here in the U.S. think that our middle class is evaporating. I think to focus on energy specifically may be a case of misplaced emphasis. World population growth spawns many problems beyond increasing energy demand. This is not to say that in absence of population growth and a perhaps worldwide burgeoning middle class, we would not have energy concerns. I tend to favor sustainable technology. I won't attempt to define that as there many features to that. I think technology 'improvement' (refinement of existing technologies) has suffered at the alter of new technology. There are many causes of this. Some technologies can be be improved and made more efficient, yet get overlooked. All 'change' is in some sense a tax on human productivity. Yet energy consumption and efficiency do merit attention. Can we not come to see energy usage and much more in the context of world population growth? I see little on this most important topic in the mainstream media and elsewhere. As any good firefighter should know, one doesn't spray water on the tips of the flames but rather applies suppressant at their base. - There's a Truth out there somewhere!
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5/6/2010 11:18 am |
very true Ricky ~ the sea can provide enough power for the whole world without usung oil or natural gas whilst the sun should by now be making the worlds Sahara like deserts bloom with solar powered water treatments and cascade spraying large sandy ares trouble is far to many have been brought up with waste as a way of life and energy is far too cheap to make them change
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5/6/2010 12:44 pm |
Hi Ricky, Thanks for posting Dagmar Barlow's/Peter Terzakian Blog/Writings here. The title points to at least two circumstances, energy and population growth. The need to conserve energy is but one circumstance that is exacerbated by a growing population. I would wish for peoples of lesser resources and/or productivity to be able to lift themselves into better circumstances of comfort and well being. As populations in emerging countries grow to middle class status, I am reminded that some here in the U.S. think that our middle class is evaporating. I think to focus on energy specifically may be a case of misplaced emphasis. World population growth spawns many problems beyond increasing energy demand. This is not to say that in absence of population growth and a perhaps worldwide burgeoning middle class, we would not have energy concerns. I tend to favor sustainable technology. I won't attempt to define that as there many features to that. I think technology 'improvement' (refinement of existing technologies) has suffered at the alter of new technology. There are many causes of this. Some technologies can be be improved and made more efficient, yet get overlooked. All 'change' is in some sense a tax on human productivity. Yet energy consumption and efficiency do merit attention. Can we not come to see energy usage and much more in the context of world population growth? I see little on this most important topic in the mainstream media and elsewhere. As any good firefighter should know, one doesn't spray water on the tips of the flames but rather applies suppressant at their base. Coal and oil and gas are the energy of the sun captured and processed in a series of naturally occurring bio-reactors and converted to solid, liquid and gaseous forms. Burning coal or oil or gas is converting this stored solar energy into thermal energy. With all of the steps involved there is inherent waste. What if we increase the efficacy of the current extraction, transport and combustion systems while we find a way to cut out all of the intermediary steps and control our energy sources at the atomic level?
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5/6/2010 12:45 pm |
A simple step that will benefit all. Thank you for the very good suggestion.
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5/6/2010 6:47 pm |
This is an excellent insight. Thank you for your comment.
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The thrust of biological evolution is to the most intelligent creatures. The thrust of industrial evolution is the most intelligent control of energy flows at the atomic level. Mining for hydrocarbon is mechanical manipulation of an energy flow at the bulk level. Coal and oil and gas are the energy of the sun captured and processed in a series of naturally occurring bio-reactors and converted to solid, liquid and gaseous forms. Burning coal or oil or gas is converting this stored solar energy into thermal energy. With all of the steps involved there is inherent waste. What if we increase the efficacy of the current extraction, transport and combustion systems while we find a way to cut out all of the intermediary steps and control our energy sources at the atomic level? For example, overfishing is not directly an energy problem. Yet it is a problem of population growth. Many environmental problems are not directly related to oil and energy. Attention to energy methods and efficiency is good. It's the tip of an iceberg. Getting a handle on the demand side of the equation (population growth - the rest of the iceberg), will ease the efforts required to manage the increases in finding ever more (clean) energy. That will free up human efforts to allow more to go into developing better energy sources and efficiency. We've got a whole lot of icebergs with a common underwater base. Energy problems in isolation are one matter. Energy problems in the light of world population growth and all its associated problems is a different ballgame. Perhaps a holistic approach in needed. Ricky - thanks for the science lesson on biological/industrial evolution and waste in mechanical processes. Do you know the current state of nuclear fusion (not fission) development and the possibilities in that technology? - There's a Truth out there somewhere!
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5/7/2010 8:18 am |
My take is that a multi-faceted approach is required. The problem with conservation is that most people pay lip service to it, but don't do much to implement measures to conserve. One small step that I see is that some of the bigger retailers here are starting to charge for shopping bags. Perhaps we need more of this sort of thing - hit people in the wallet to make them conserve. But then, of course, someone will scream 'cash grab' and 'Gestapo tactics'. A couple of months ago there was an animated discussion on national radio about banning plastic shopping bags as Ireland did. One woman was outraged at the idea because she needs them when walking her doggie.
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5/10/2010 1:42 pm |
My take is that a multi-faceted approach is required. The problem with conservation is that most people pay lip service to it, but don't do much to implement measures to conserve. One small step that I see is that some of the bigger retailers here are starting to charge for shopping bags. Perhaps we need more of this sort of thing - hit people in the wallet to make them conserve. But then, of course, someone will scream 'cash grab' and 'Gestapo tactics'. A couple of months ago there was an animated discussion on national radio about banning plastic shopping bags as Ireland did. One woman was outraged at the idea because she needs them when walking her doggie.
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5/10/2010 1:43 pm |
You have raise many valid issues that I agree with. Thank you for your comment and I hope you will comment on my blogs in the future.
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