0.15 Natural capital: energy  (Page 5/15)

More generally, reliance on nuclear power will be waning notably over the next 25 years even though China and Britain are continuing to build reactors. Almost 200 nuclear reactors are due to be shut down by 2040, according to the annual report of the International Energy Agency. The plans for reactor shutdowns over the next 25 years contrast sharply with that of the period 1974-2014, when only 10 reactors were decommissioned.

We lack the space to discuss in detail many of these very interesting alternative energy resources. It can be said, though, with a very high degree of assurance, that ethanol from corn or almost any food crop is not an answer to any intelligent question. Nor is biodiesel, except for that made by using algae. As we noted before: ethanol from corn (as in U.S.) involves very little if any energy gain and precious little environmental gain. Making ethanol itself requires lots of energy. Also a gallon of ethanol is less useful in internal combustion engines. This is because Ethanol is a 2-carbon molecule. Gasoline is a long-chained molecule with almost 50% higher energy content.

To replace half of diesel fuel use in U.S. with biodiesel would require many millions of acres of cultivation of corn in U.S. and Brazil. The truth is, the negative environmental consequences of ethanol from corn were never considered by Congress in the rush to subsidize ethanol. Example: pouring on fertilizer in Iowa to grow more corn for ethanol has resulted in more pollution of many rivers especially those draining into the Gulf of Mexico.

Perspectives on energy worldwide

- The nations that consume the most energy per capita are #1 Qatar, #2 Iceland and #3, the U.S.

- The nations that have the lowest per capita energy consumption are #1 Bangladesh and #2 Eritrea. All of the lowest 10 are very poor.

- The countries with the highest total energy consumption are #1 the U.S.and #2 China, and Chinese consumption is likely to surpass the U.S. by 2015.

- The country with the highest gasoline prices is Eritrea.

- The nations with lowest gasoline prices are #1 Venezuela and #2 Iran.

- The U.S. state with the most installed wind capacity is Texas with double the capacity of California, in second place.

Energy utilization and energy subsidies in emerging nations

Subsidies to fossil fuel use in many emerging countries are unusually high, leading to extraordinary rates of growth in energy consumption heavy stress on government budgets. And, according to one estimate, subsidies on energy use worldwide were responsible for 36% of global carbon emissions between 1980 and 2010. Pump Aligning , Economist , January 17, 2015, p.70. The subsidies often lead to unexpected outcomes. Over the past 30 years, Indonesia among many other emerging nations has used heavy subsidies on gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene. The subsidies resulted in artificially low domestic prices for these products, so that consumption grew at very rapid rates. Indonesia in the 70s, 80s and 90s was a major oil exporter, and a charter member of OPEC, dating back to the mid-sixties. By 2012, Indonesia was, as a result of very low prices for domestic energy use, was a net oil importer , and no longer a member of OPEC.