Electrical constraint
and inequality
Solar and wind energy collecting
devices are extensions of the fossil fuel supply system and the global
industrial infrastructure. These devices
will not be made without these inputs unless someone has a magic wand. (see: http://sunweber.blogspot.com/2015/04/solar-devices-industrial-infrastructure.html) I am proposing that
solar and wind energy collecting devices are business as usual, if we do not
impose constraints on all energy and other natural resource use.
In addition, without constraints on
electrical usage (toys and tools) then the gross inequality globally will
continue with solar and wind energy underwriting it. Without constraints solar and wind devices
and their auxiliary accessories are elitist equipment of the entitled.
This opens two critical questions of
the energy/electricity that we are requiring.
How do we bring more equitable distribution of energy resources? Is this imbalance and the consequent strife
our destiny and our demise?
What do we need the energy for? This
must be one of the mantras for survival now and tomorrow. Imagine beginning at the
earth resources –the mine and the well- and the subsequent flow of these
products. This creates a tremendous picture in motion of "energy" and
resources flowing around the world. It is a Catch 22; we can't live with it and
can't live presently without it.
I took the table from this site:
I copied it to an Excel spread sheet. I rank ordered the least energy use to the
most, and then did an accumulation of population from least energy use to
most. I could then look at what 50% or 80%
of the world’s population used compared to the USofA. (The table is at the end. Sorry I can't get it larger)
Caveat:
these figures are approximate however, realistic.
Caveat: The per capita electric use is misleading.
The wealth get the lion's share of the energy.
The wealth get the lion's share of the energy.
- people living in countries in the top
half of "energy-per-capita consuming countries" consume more than 90%
of all electricity consumed (or more than 1.8 times an equitable share);
- people living in countries in the top
20% of "energy-per-capita consuming countries" consume almost 57% of
all electricity consumed (or roughly 2.8 times an equitable share);
- people living in countries in the top
10% of "energy-per-capita consuming countries" consume almost 40% of
all electricity consumed (or roughly 4 times an equitable share); and
- people living in countries in the top
5% of "energy-per-capita consuming countries" consume about 25% of
all electricity consumed (or about 5 times an equitable share).
Even that is misleading, because all the products made
elsewhere
and shipped to the USA add to the electrical (and total energy)
available for our consumption.
So again I ask what do we want the electricity for?
How will we use the electricity from these solar and wind energy
capturing devices?
This isn’t a trick question.
There is no hidden trap.
It however is a question that I ask of promoters of these
devices and I get no answer.
So it is business as usual.
Put up as many wind turbines and solar collecting devices as the earth
can bear. Build all the auxiliary
equipment to run these devices. Consume
by mining, refining, fabricating, manufacturing and transporting all the toys
and tools we want to use.
It is like a person diagnosed with lung
cancer saying he/she will just smoke these organic, non sprayed cigarettes for
a little bit longer instead of facing the reality of the situation, quitting
and having the operation.
Lament climate change but blind yourself to the energy and
resource needs of these devices.
Can we honestly call ourselves green?
Call ourselves renewable? Call ourselves sustainable?
Set the consequences
to the global economy aside, what do we really need? What devices.
We cannot ask “what can we get rid of?”
We must
start at the most basic –
“What
devices, what functions do we need?”
Pumps for our water?
I have spoken somewhat to this here: http://sunweber.blogspot.com/2011/10/to-make-light-bulb.html
If there was a “game” and you were given
one quarter of the electricity you now use (which is what the 80% have) or even
one half of what you now use, what would you choose?
How much electricity does an American home use?
In
2013, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility
customer was 10,908 kilowatthours (kWh), an average of 909 kWh
per month. Louisiana had the highest annual consumption at 15,270 kWh, and
Hawaii had the lowest at 6,176 kWh.
http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3
What is other?
Above we indicated
residential. Think about all those
panels
on roof tops, with
inverters, controllers and batteries.
How about this electrical usage:
What are we using the 60% industrial and commercial
electricity for? Are we lighting up car
lots at night commercially? How about
Times Square of its equivalent?
Industrially, what are
we making with this electricity?
Critically necessary products?
We must
start at the most basic –
“What
devices, what functions do we need?”
As stated in the beginning without
constraints on electrical usage (toys and tools) then the gross inequality
globally will continue with solar and wind energy underwriting it. Without constraints solar and wind devices
and their auxiliary accessories are elitist equipment of the entitled.
So are we talking about solar devices
and their auxiliary equipment on each of these homes?
