CASE STUDY: Global Energy Consumption - What Exactly is Happening?

Image by Bert van Dijk via Flickr

Green Lighting - Whirlwind Tour of Global Energy Consumption by Cinnamon Alvarez

You may have read about solar energy (photovoltaic cells and the three types of solar thermal power plants: parabolic troughs, solar dishes, and solar power towers). But where does solar energy and renewable sources and everything else - where does it all fit in? Where's the Big Picture?

Let's go on a whirlwind journey of renewable energy, showing you views from 100,000 feet, then region by region, then showing you where renewable energy sources fit into the US consumption picture, and compare that to the rest of the world. And we'll wind it up with a picture of the last 400,000 years where we quickly examine the question: Ice Age Coming?

Global Emissions

We know that pollution started cranking up in the 1800s, as the Industrial Revolution went into high-tech growth mode. Back then, the planet could more easily absorb the emissions. The problem isn't that we're not emitting carbon at the same pace as before. It's that, just like a landfill, we're running out of room in the environment.

The pace has slowed somewhat: graphs showing the emissions are nearly vertical for the last 50 years, going from 1500 to 8000 (a 433% increase). In the 125 years from 1850 to 1925, it went from 9 to 1000 (a 10,000% increase).

Regional Emissions

Like many other areas, the USA has led the globe in carbon emissions. But watch out, US: pulling up rapidly from behind are China and India.

U.S. Energy Consumption by Energy Source: 2007

The US produces 8.5 million barrels of petroleum a day, but needs 21 million (imports are 240% of the renewable energy amount). It produces 1.4 million cubic meters of natural gas a day, but needs 3.3 million (imports are about 150% of the renewable energy amount). It produces 3 million tons of coal a day, using all but the 0.14 tons it exports.

Just remember this: renewable energy accounts for 7% of US energy consumption.

Global Renewable Energy: 18% Of Total Consumption

The US uses 25% of all energy, 7% of which is renewable.The globe - without the US - uses the other 75% of all energy, 22% of which is renewable. In other words, the globe uses 3 times as much renewable energy in its energy mix as the US.

Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources - such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat - which are renewable (naturally replenished). In 2006, about 18% of global final energy consumption came from renewables, with 13% coming from traditional biomass, such as wood-burning. Hydroelectricity was the next largest renewable source, providing 3%, followed by solar hot water/heating, which contributed 1.3%. Modern technologies, such as geothermal energy, wind power, solar power, and ocean energy together provide 0.8% of final energy consumption.

Ice Age Cometh?

We get Ice Ages roughly every 125,000 years. The last one was 124,999 years and 11 months ago. Hmmm ...

NOTE: Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration has varied in the atmosphere during the last 400,000 years. Throughout most of the record, the largest changes can be related to glacial/interglacial cycles within the current ice age. Although the glacial cycles are most directly caused by changes in the Earth's orbit, these changes also influence the carbon cycle, which in turn feeds back into the glacial system. Since the Industrial Revolution, circa 1800, the burning of fossil fuels has caused a dramatic increase of CO2 in the atmosphere, reaching levels unprecedented in the last 400,000 years. This increase has been implicated as a primary cause of global warming.

Do you want to see this article with graphs and images to help you understand faster and easier? I would like to offer you free access to powerful info on energy efficiency that's easy to read and cuts through all this "green" information clutter -- so you can literally start making positive changes today. You can access it now by going to: http://www.a19.com/pub/articles/

From Cinnamon Alvarez: Founder, A19 -- woman-owned green manufacturer of hand-made ceramic lighting fixtures.

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