<DrumBeat: October 6, 2008 The Oil Drum The Borg: A Financial Allegory>

199 comments on Energy/Credit/Currency Crisis Open Thread

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xuewen on October 6, 2008 - 6:28am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

The problem I have with stats like these is that $/kWh, or kWh/$ have not to my mind been shown to be constant across different sectors of the economy. They probably vary a lot for different activities. And dollars probably embody more than energy, although energy is probably a significant component.

To a large extent then, what we see on graphs like this will depend on what mix of economic activities are conducted domestically in each country, and what is imported. Japan, for instance, does not do a lot of primary energy extraction domestically.

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jeppen on October 6, 2008 - 7:37am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

To a large extent then, what we see on graphs like this will depend on what mix of economic activities are conducted domestically in each country, and what is imported.

Well, in the US, transportation is 28% of energy consumption, and in Japan it is only 23%, even though Japan make do with half the energy consumption per capita. There are similar figures for residential use, where 68% of US consumption is devoted to lightning or area heating/cooling, and where ditto for commercial is 48%. These consumption patterns and differences are inherently domestic - it is not stuff you import or export where lots of energy has been sunk.

If anything, I think Japan's industry is quite heavy. Ship-building, automobiles, steel... Sure, they do not do a lot of energy extraction domestically, but such extraction's energy consumption hardly seems to show up in a total energy breakdown of US consumption either. (The main item may be oil refining at 16% of industry's 33% of total.) For Canada, though, I think you have a point, as they have unconventional oil and uranium ore and actually export a lot.

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xuewen on October 6, 2008 - 7:56am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Thanks for your response. It's good to know that the effect is minor - I had wondered about the extent to which economies apparently becoming more energy efficient was due to "off-shoring" the more energy intensive parts of the economic chain.

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DelusionaL on October 7, 2008 - 9:20am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

Bingo!
China oil usage is up but how much of that is just transfer from economies like the US?
I cannot agree more.

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clifman on October 8, 2008 - 6:28pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top

I'll stay out of the discussion started by mistermarko regarding the importation of raw materials and export of finished products. But regarding Japan's lower energy use for transportation and heating/cooling, we must bear in mind the differences between Japan, which is a bit smaller than California and the US regarding size (and therefore travel distance) and climate. Using Kansas City and Tokyo as representative of the national average, Japan has a seasonal temp range of 50F (85-35) whereas the US has a range of 75F (90-15) Much more cooling and especially heating is required in the US continental climate vs. Japan's maritime climate.

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199 comments on Energy/Credit/Currency Crisis Open Thread

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