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18 comments on Electricity: How Much? From Where? What Fuel?

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ericr on March 16, 2006 - 9:05pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
"An April 2000 E.U. report found that, using existing technology, increased efficiency could decrease energy consumption by more than 18% by 2020. The U.N.-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has stated that simple voluntary energy-efficiency improvements in buildings will reduce world energy use 10%-15% by 2020. They state that, with technology already in use, efficiency improvements in buildings, manufacturing, and transport can reduce world carbon emissions more than 50% by 2020." --from "A problem with wind power"

Short term or not, conservation and efficiency nonetheless roundly beats every other current alternative.

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LevinK on March 16, 2006 - 10:03pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Can, possibly, could, potentially, would do... if we face it while energy is so cheap and efficiency improvements so expensive this would never happen.

Yes, of course energy costs will rise. But until they reach a point they will make efficiency improvements viable our whole economy will be in such trouble that these nice things you are talking about will be the last on the list. If we have a 20% unemployment and runaway inflation, who is going to invest in insulations?

On the other hand if it is decided the taxpayers to subsidize efficiency improvements we are going to end with another government induced madness on our heads. We are already paying ever larger amounts for that wind generation madness. What will be next?

Conservation (or demand destruction) is much more likely to happen sooner or later, but it will not be pretty at all.

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PeterR on March 17, 2006 - 6:38am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
I have trouble with this negative attitude.  Your point seems to be that efficiency improvements are not going to cut it and that development of windpower is a waste of money. Both might be true, however, rather than simply stating  this, and concluding that demand destruction is "not going to be pretty at all" I would also like to hear your opinion on the measures you would like to take to soften the impacts of PO.

No matter how gloomy the future might be, we should try to develop the best possible course of action and spend our "creative energy" productively.
So no windpower for you, but  will you just sit and wait until the world falls apart around you?

In the long run we need to switch to renewable energy, if it turns out the flux of that energy is not sufficient to maintain our current lifestyle we need to start rethinking that lifestyle now. An important aspects of that is a longer term view that will make efficiency improvements viable now rather than later (when it might be too late).  Labeling such attempts beforehand as "government induced madness" is not productive at al.

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LevinK on March 17, 2006 - 5:05pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Of course you are right - I was being destructive here, and I did that on purpose.

I explained why, and also the positive side of my position in my answer to peakguy.

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18 comments on Electricity: How Much? From Where? What Fuel?

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