How much energy?

[Catseye3]

I didn't watch. The first thought that occurred to me was about the anecdote where a little girl asked Abraham Lincoln how long his legs were, and he replied, long enough to reach the ground.

Probably that would apply to anyone's theory about how much energy will be needed. Particularly if the theorizer is an economist.

[George K]

@Catseye3 he makes some interesting, and scary, points. One of them is that the need for "energy" is greater than the need for energy itself. For so-ccalled "green energy," you need minerals: copper, iron, lithium, and rare earth metals. You get them by ... mining. And there is such a push against mining in this country because it's "not green."

Have you ever seen a photo of a lithium mine? That;s where batteries are born.

[Mik]

For any foreseeable real progress in emissions it has to be nuclear.

[Jolly]

People have their personal opinions about the PragerU videos. I tend to find them non-screechy and usually informative.

[Mik]

They come from a given viewpoint, but yeah, they are primarily informative and allow the viewer to reach their own conclusions.

[taiwan_girl]

I think that the video does not mention is the advances in energy efficiency. For example, something like a refrigerator now uses about 4x LESS energy than just 20 years ago for the same cooling. I am sure that for a refrigerator 50 years ago, the energy usage is probably almost 100x less.

I do agree that fossil fuel is not going away. Too much investment in "inter structure" etc It will decrease over time, but will be more of a slope than a cliff.

I also agree with @mik Nuclear should be looked at more.

(Funny, but I just read an article about the US Army and their attempts to use portable nuclear power on remote bases, the first time 60 years ago in Greenland

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2021/07/20/the-army-tried-portable-nuclear-power-at-remote-bases-60-years-ago-it-didnt-go-well/

[Jolly]

@taiwan_girl said in How much energy?:

I think that the video does not mention is the advances in energy efficiency. For example, something like a refrigerator now uses about 4x LESS energy than just 20 years ago for the same cooling. I am sure that for a refrigerator 50 years ago, the energy usage is probably almost 100x less.

I do agree that fossil fuel is not going away. Too much investment in "inter structure" etc It will decrease over time, but will be more of a slope than a cliff.

I also agree with @mik Nuclear should be looked at more.

(Funny, but I just read an article about the US Army and their attempts to use portable nuclear power on remote bases, the first time 60 years ago in Greenland

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2021/07/20/the-army-tried-portable-nuclear-power-at-remote-bases-60-years-ago-it-didnt-go-well/

Problem is, how long does that refrigerator last?

I can show you multiple old refrigerators, 70 years old. Most people I talk to today, grumble about how short the life of a new frig is nowadays.

[Mik]

And then you have to factor in the environmental impact of the raw materials, manufacturing and transportation of the multiple appliances that don't last too long, not just the cost to operate.

[George K]

@Jolly said in How much energy?:

I can show you multiple old refrigerators, 70 years old. Most people I talk to today, grumble about how short the life of a new frig is nowadays.

Brief aside...

George to refrigerator repair guy: "What's the best refrigerator to buy?"

Refrigerator repair guy: "Your mother's."

[Doctor Phibes]

@George-K said in How much energy?:

@Jolly said in How much energy?:

I can show you multiple old refrigerators, 70 years old. Most people I talk to today, grumble about how short the life of a new frig is nowadays.

Brief aside...

George to refrigerator repair guy: "What's the best refrigerator to buy?"

Refrigerator repair guy: "Your mother's."

There's a dirty joke in there somewhere.

[Horace]

@Doctor-Phibes said in How much energy?:

@George-K said in How much energy?:

@Jolly said in How much energy?:

I can show you multiple old refrigerators, 70 years old. Most people I talk to today, grumble about how short the life of a new frig is nowadays.

Brief aside...

George to refrigerator repair guy: "What's the best refrigerator to buy?"

Refrigerator repair guy: "Your mother's."

There's a dirty joke in there somewhere.

Definitely not anything along the lines of a frigid ice box for sale.

[Klaus]

The world will need 1.21 jigawatts of energy.

[jon-nyc]

@Klaus said in How much energy?:

The world will need 1.21 jigawatts of energy.

Jiggity.

[taiwan_girl]

@Jolly said in How much energy?:

@taiwan_girl said in How much energy?:

I think that the video does not mention is the advances in energy efficiency. For example, something like a refrigerator now uses about 4x LESS energy than just 20 years ago for the same cooling. I am sure that for a refrigerator 50 years ago, the energy usage is probably almost 100x less.

I do agree that fossil fuel is not going away. Too much investment in "inter structure" etc It will decrease over time, but will be more of a slope than a cliff.

I also agree with @mik Nuclear should be looked at more.

(Funny, but I just read an article about the US Army and their attempts to use portable nuclear power on remote bases, the first time 60 years ago in Greenland

https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2021/07/20/the-army-tried-portable-nuclear-power-at-remote-bases-60-years-ago-it-didnt-go-well/

Problem is, how long does that refrigerator last?

I can show you multiple old refrigerators, 70 years old. Most people I talk to today, grumble about how short the life of a new frig is nowadays.

I agree, but I also think it would be possible to build a long lasting energy efficient refrigerator. Right now, the manufacturing/disposal/raw material means that a long lasting energy efficienct fridge would cost more and not too many people would buy it.

If for example, disposal costs increase by alot, then more incentive to build them to last longer.

I think that humans are good at adapting to what is needed.