Energy: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:08, 19 January 2023

There is currently no way to power the world without fossil fuels. Until major technological breakthroughs happen, we have to consume less.
This is not as hard as it sounds.

This page is about energy in 2 main forms: fuel and electricity.

Energy supply

The majority of energy comes from fossil fuels, which are the main cause of climate change.

What about other energy sources?

Energy source	Main limitation
Hydro	Geography
Nuclear	Needs uranium-235 which is too scarce*
Solar	Too many rare metals needed*
Wind	Geography
Biofuel	Causes deforestation and global hunger
Waste	Limited supply
Geothermal	Geography. In most parts of the world, it's only suited for heating and cooling.

Solar and wind are also limited by energy storage.*

*Limitations marked with an asterisk (*) are possible to overcome with the right innovations.

More details are found on the wikipage of each energy source. Links are in the table.

Energy demand

What is energy mainly used for? Some basic categories:

Most of the world is currently living in poverty. Suppose every country was as developed as western countries: Global energy demand could be more than double:

This is far beyond today's green energy capacity.

Transportation sector

Energy demand would be different if vehicles didn't run on gasoline or diesel. In general, we'd need less energy to power the vehicles but more energy to manufacture them (and later recycle them at their end of life). Overall, total energy demand would be slightly less. See this chart.

There are currently some serious roadblocks to making this happen. Read the page on electric vehicles to see how they could maybe be overcome.

It's quite possible that there's no good solution for electric vehicles, and the only way to make transportation sustainable is for people to drive less. This goes against suburban culture, but it isn't as hard as it sounds. Some things that would help:

Walkability - organizing neighborhoods so things are in optimal locations, so people don't have to drive as far as often.
Public transit done right. Yes, there are plenty of ways for it to be done wrong!
Working from home - only suited for some types of work, of course.
Carpooling - yes, this takes some effort and coordination.

Reducing energy demand

A common misconception is that "saving energy" is mostly about turning off lights, turning off computers, etc. Those actions are worthwhile but don't actually make a big difference. Other personal lifestyle choices do.

More than half of energy demand (...)( commercial vehicles + industrial/manufacturing + some commercial spaces ) is affected by what people buy, and how much of it.

More information on this soon.

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+{{banner|There is currently no way to power the world without fossil fuels. Until major technological breakthroughs happen, we have to consume less.<br /><small>This is not as hard as it sounds.</small>}}
 This page is about energy in 2 main forms: '''fuel and electricity'''.
 ==Energy supply==
-===The majority of energy comes from [[fossil fuels]] which cause [[climate change]].===
+===The majority of energy comes from [[fossil fuels]], which are the main cause of [[climate change]].===
 ----
 [[File: energy-usage-by-source.png|border|alt=Energy sources]]
-===Limits to other energy sources===
+===What about other energy sources?===
+{|class="wikitable"
-{| class='wikitable'
 !Energy source
-!Limitations
+!Main limitation
 |-
-|[[Hydroelectricity]]
+|[[Hydro]]
-|Only viable in a few parts of the world
+|Geography
 |-
-|[[Geothermal]]
+|[[Nuclear]]
-|In most parts of the world, is only suited for [[heating]] and [[cooling]]
+|Needs uranium-235 which is too scarce*
 |-
 |[[Solar]]
-|1. Intermittant (not available at night)<br />2. Manufacturing is too resource-intensive
+|Too many rare metals needed*
 |-
 |[[Wind]]
-|1. Intermittant<br />2. Turbine construction is too resource-intensive<br />3. Requires a lot of space, usually far from where people live
+|Geography
 |-
-|[[Nuclear]]
+|[[Biofuel]]
-|Limited supply of uranium-235<br />+ Safety concerns
+|Causes [[deforestation]] and [[global hunger]]
 |-
-|[[Biomass waste]]
+|[[biomass waste|Waste]]
 |Limited supply
 |-
-|[[Biofuel]]
+|[[Geothermal]]
-|Limited supply<br />+ Competes with [[food]], contributing to hunger and deforestation
+|Geography. In most parts of the world, it's only suited for [[heating]] and [[cooling]].
 |}
+Solar and wind are also limited by [[energy storage]].*
-The intermittency problem of [[solar]] and [[wind]] could be solved with [[energy storage]], if the right innovations happen.
+<nowiki>*</nowiki>Limitations marked with an asterisk (*) are possible to overcome '''with the right innovations'''.
+More details are found on the wikipage of each energy source. Links are in the table.
 ==Energy demand==
-Categorized by end use:<br />
+What is energy mainly used for? Some basic categories:<br />
 [[File: energy-demand-status-quo.png|border|alt=Energy uses]]<br />
-===Can this demand (or at least, most of it) be met without fossil fuels?===
-Short answer: No.
-Long answer: Not without [[energy supply scenarios|major technological breakthroughs]].
+Most of the world is currently living in '''poverty'''. Suppose every country was as ''developed'' as ''western'' countries: [[energy demand scenarios|Global energy demand could be more than '''double''']]:
-Even worse: Most of the world is currently living in '''poverty'''. Suppose every country was as ''developed'' as ''western'' countries: [[energy demand scenarios|Global energy demand would be more than '''double''']]:
+[[File: energy-demand-if-developed.png|border|alt=Energy demand if everyone lived a first-world lifestyle]]
+This is far beyond today's green energy capacity.
+===Transportation sector===
+Energy demand would be different if vehicles didn't run on gasoline or diesel. In general, we'd need less energy to ''power'' the vehicles but more energy to ''manufacture'' them (and later ''recycle'' them at their end of life). Overall, total energy demand would be ''slightly'' less. See [[electric vehicles/energy|this chart]].
+There are currently some serious roadblocks to making this happen. Read the page on [[electric vehicles]] to see how they could maybe be overcome.
+It's quite possible that there's ''no good solution'' for electric vehicles, and the only way to make transportation sustainable is for people to ''drive less''. This goes against suburban culture, but it isn't as hard as it sounds. Some things that would help:
+* [[Walkability]] - organizing neighborhoods so things are in optimal locations, so people don't have to drive as far as often.
+* [[Public transit]] done right. <small>Yes, there are plenty of ways for it to be done wrong!</small>
+* Working from home - only suited for ''some'' types of work, of course.
+* [[Carpooling]] - yes, this takes some effort and coordination.
+===Reducing energy demand===
-[[File: energy-demand-if-developed.png|border|alt=Energy demand if everyone lived a first-world lifestyle]]
+A common misconception is that "saving energy" is ''mostly'' about turning off lights, turning off computers, etc. Those actions are worthwhile but don't actually make a ''big'' difference. '''Other''' personal lifestyle choices do.
-====But there is good news====
+More than half of energy demand {{x|commercial vehicles + industrial/manufacturing + ''some'' commercial spaces}} is affected by '''what people buy''', and '''how much''' of it.
-If we [[minimal consumption scenario|did things differently]], then...
+''More information on this soon.''
-* Everyone on the planet could have a decent quality of life, and
-* Energy consumption would be just a fraction of what it is today.
-* Plus, people would be less [[labor|overworked]].
-[[minimal consumption scenario|This might actually be the most viable route to net-zero carbon emissions]].