Energy (& Resources) as a Social Project

1. Energy (& Resources) as a Social Project

2. Why a “social project?” • Energy is sought for services, not in itself • Mass production requires industrial mobilization • Getting energy to users relies on secure means • Goods contain embedded energy • Many goods require energy to operate • All of this requires social organization

3. “Our way of life” depends on plentiful, low-cost energy

4. Automobility & the automotive complex

5. Heat, light, comfort

6. Industry, agriculture, war

8. What is “energy?” • The Universe is composed of energy & so is biological life • Chemical bonds are forms of contained energy • Carbohydrate molecules contain stored energy • Photosynthesis uses solar energy to bind carbon-based molecules and store them • Life “burns” these molecules releasing energy to do work • Energy is the capacity of a system to do work

9. What does energy do & why do we want it? • Energy provides services • There are different ways to offer similar services • Some are more energy efficient • Some are less complex to run • Some are cost less than others • We want energy for the services it can provide, not for the form • You don’t use a cannon to kill a fly • It makes sense to choose the form to match the service

10. 100 million BTU = 18 barrels of oil equivalent

11. US Energy Consumption per Capita 100 million BTU = 18 barrels of oil equivalent DOE, Energy Information Administration (EAI)

12. United States

13. Rejected Energy 58% Total is 3x 1950 consumption; population has doubled

14. How much energy does the world use? World: 80 billion barrels of oil equivalent, of which 17 billion is oil

15. You are here

16. Where does all that energy go?

17. Fossil fuels are the backbone of the world’s energy system: why? • Coal & oil have been very cheap to produce, and it’s almost “free” • Oil is easy to find and transport • Energy corporations & companies have lots of fossil fuels to sell, and the price is “right” • Consumers want cheap & plentiful energy & feel entitled to it

18. What does world energy supply look like?

19. 1 tonne of oil = 7.25 barrels

21. 1 billion metric tons coal = 2.45-4.9 billion bbl oil

22. 1 trillion cu. meters gas = 6.29 billion bbl oil

23. Relative national energy consumption

24. Per capita energy consumption, 2003 One barrel of oil = 42 gal = 138 kgoe

25. GDP/capita vs. kW/capita Prof. Ben Crow