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  • From: Clansgian AT wmconnect.com
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Climate-Gate
  • Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 08:40:23 EST



> >I personally think all the energy usage needs to be curtailed back
> significantly at all levels.

I hadn't read much on this list in a few weeks so when I went to read this
thread, I read all the posts at one sitting. Quite a novella!

Several things were touched on cocerning energy and I thought I'd throw in
my 2 KW worth in the pot.

As per above, lower energy use in in our future no matter what we do. The
world's primary source of industrial energy is oil and crude oil production
peaked in 2005. Yes, I know you can find tables and charts from IEA and
other organizations that show that world oil production has edged up since
then, but that increase is fakery. It comes from the likes of counting the
petroleum products used to mine and distill tar sands as part of the
production
and the resulting products of the tar sands themselves as still more
production. It counts the oil used in growing soybeans and processing and
refining the oil as part of the total prodution and also the resulting soy
oil fuel
as part of it as well.

Because of the recession world oil consumption quit rising (or vice versa),
we are in a sort of energy hiatus right now. But since world oil
production cannot rise significantly, it is the 800 lb gorilla that sits on
any
retrun to the sort of economy we experienced over the last decade. Just as
soon
as major industrial activity starts again, the cost of energy will rise
again thowing the economy back into recession.

Business as usual isn't going to cut it.

Over the past few years in other fora (not so much here) people will bring
up the phenomenon of Brazil saying that they are running their cars as
busses entirely from ethanol and why couldn't we do the same. Of course they
are
not. More than half their motorfuel is petroleum and only one family in 27
in Brazil owns a car. If we went to having only one family in 27 owning a
car (just one car) and driving the short distances that are the norm
elsewhere, we would be oil independent with no ethanol needed at all.

Likewise France is pointed out, they get all of their electricity from
nuclear, right? No, it's about 77%. Their per capita electric use is about
half of ours. But more significantly is the fact that France's nuclear
program
came about in the 50's because of large amounts of domestic uranium to be
had. That uranium peaked in the 70's and now France imports nearly all the
uranium it uses for electric power generation. If everyone in the world
generated 77% of their electricity from nuclear power, the world's reserves
of
unanium would be depleted in a few decades and would become prohibitively
expensive long before that.

As an aside to the above, when you hear of the (as yet undeveloped) breeder
reactror technology where the reactor is supposed to produce more fuel than
it consumes ... this is true and probably feasible. What is not generally
understood is that that it is a one time thing. The original enriched fuel
used for generation can produce about eight times as much fissionable
material. But that material does not produce more fuel. Unless this system
is
fed with mined and refined uranium, it too eventuall runs out of fuel.

The world is headed for a lifestyle of less energy use whether we like it
or not and whether we do anything about it or not.

James




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