Energy: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:01, 3 November 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 burning fossil fuels - the main cause of climate change.

Fossil fuels include coal, oil and natural gas.

What about other energy sources?

Main reasons why non-fossil-fuel energy sources aren't being scaled up:

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 & cooling.

Solar and wind are also limited by energy storage.*

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

For more details, read the wikipages of each energy source. Links are in the table above.

Energy demand

Since most energy consumption is bad for the planet, let's look at how it could be reduced - starting with the biggest pieces of the pie.

Note: These actions are mostly directed at "first-world" countries, which use a disproportionately large amount of energy. In other parts of the world, consumption doesn't necessarily have to be reduced.

We could probably cut all energy consumption in half, while barely losing any quality of life. It just requires some planning (both individually and as a society).

Transportation

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.

Homes & buildings

In buildings & homes, heating is the biggest piece of the pie (and cooling is the second-biggest). Energy-saving solutions haven't been added to this wiki yet.^{[RESEARCH needed]}

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

Consumerism

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

To deal with this piece of the pie, we need:

Frugalism - i.e. buying less stuff!
Fighting against: business waste, planned obsolescence and code bloat.
Fighting for right to repair.
Running new software on old computers, perhaps? ^{[new page needed]}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-This page is about energy in 2 main forms: fuel and electricity.
+{{banner|There is currently no way to power the world without fossil fuels, until major technological breakthroughs happen.<br /><small>We have to consume less - 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 burning [[fossil fuels]] - the main cause of [[climate change]].===
-----
+[[File: energy-usage-by-source.png|thumb|World energy by source]]
-[[File: energy-usage-by-source.png|border|alt=Energy sources]]
+{{minor|Fossil fuels include [[coal]], [[oil]] and [[natural gas]].}}
-===Limits to other energy sources===
+===What about other energy sources?===
+{{minor|Main reasons why non-fossil-fuel energy sources aren't being scaled up:}}
-{| class='wikitable'
+{|class="wikitable" style="margin-top:0"
-!Energy source
+!<div style="text-align:left">Energy Source</div>
-!Limitations
+!<div style="text-align:left">Main Limitation</div>
 |-
-|[[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 - <small>in most parts of the world, it's only suited for [[heating]] & [[cooling]].</small>
 |}
+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'''.
+For more details, read the wikipages of each energy source. Links are in the table above.
 ==Energy demand==
-[[File: energy-demand-status-quo.png|border|alt=Energy uses]]
+[[File:energy-demand-pie1.png|thumb|Pie chart of energy demand, based on countries where precise data is available.]]
+Since most energy consumption is bad for the planet, let's look at how it could be reduced - starting with the biggest pieces of the pie.
-But this is the ''status quo'', with most of the world currently living in poverty.
-Suppose every country was as "developed" as "western" countries: global energy demand would be more than double:
-[[File: energy-demand-if-first-world.png|border|alt=Energy demand if everyone lived a first-world lifestyle]]
+{{mbox|Note: These actions are mostly directed at "first-world" countries, which use a disproportionately large amount of energy. In other parts of the world, consumption doesn't necessarily have to be reduced.}}
+{{minor|We could probably cut all energy consumption in '''half''', while barely losing any quality of life. It just requires some planning (both individually ''and'' as a society).}}
-Wondering where these numbers come from? Read [[energy demand scenarios]].
+===Transportation===
+Some things that would help:
+* [[Walkability]] - <small>organizing neighborhoods so things are in optimal locations, so people don't have to drive as far as often.</small>
+* [[Public transit]] done right. <small>Yes, there are plenty of ways for it to be done wrong!</small>
+* Working from home - <small>only suited for ''some'' types of work, of course.</small>
+* [[Carpooling]] - <small>yes, this takes some effort and coordination.</small>
-===Can this demand (or at least, most of it) be met without fossil fuels?===
+===Homes & buildings===
+In buildings & homes, [[heating]] is the biggest piece of the pie (and [[cooling]] is the second-biggest). Energy-saving solutions haven't been added to this wiki ''yet''.{{rn}}
-Short answer: No.
+A common misconception is that "saving energy" is all about turning off lights, turning off computers, etc. Those actions may be worthwhile but don't actually make a ''big'' difference. '''Other''' personal lifestyle choices do:
-Long answer: Not without [[energy supply scenarios|major technological breakthroughs]].
+===Consumerism===
+More than a third of energy demand{{x|commercial vehicles + industrial/manufacturing + ''some'' commercial spaces}} is affected by '''what people buy''', and '''how much''' of it.
-But there is good news:
+To deal with this piece of the pie, we need:
+* [[Frugalism]] - i.e. '''buying less stuff!'''
+* Fighting against: [[business waste]], [[planned obsolescence]] and [[code bloat]].
+* Fighting '''for''' [[right to repair]].
+* [[Running new software on old computers]], perhaps? {{npn}}
-If we [[minimal consumption scenario|did things differently]], then...
+==See also==
-* everyone on the planet could have a decent quality of life, and
+* [[Electric vehicles]]
-* energy consumption would be just a fraction of what it is today.
+* [[Labor]] {{light|- another factor that affects quality of life}}
-[[minimal consumption scenario|This is probably the most viable route to net-zero carbon emissions]].
+* [[Energy supply solutions summary]]