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Re: Global Energy etc.



[BTW: I use the yearly energy table published in the Encyclopedia Britannica
yearbooks for all the countries in the world that detail energy production,
reserves, and usage--converting everything to kWh--for my stats. Total
electrical usage is given with the amount of hydro, nuclear, and geothermal.
I then just total the coal, oil, gas, nuke, hydro, and geo usage to get
totals--so I don't adjust as you did for the conversion of fossil to
electricity.]

Rick

Well, then you're being unfair, as I said. If the coal is used to
generate electricity, then a quad of wind power can replace three
quads of coal. Same for hydroelectricity, which I see isn't in
your class's proposed mix at all, although it's currently about 4%
of our energy (if you do the accounting correctly).

Your class project sounds terrific, though. Brave of you, to try
to look ahead that far. Do you take it to the next level of detail,
speculating on how each form of energy will be used? What does
the transportation sector use, with no petroleum or natural gas?
Where do you get most of your 20% reduction in consumption?
What kinds of solar energy? Do you worry about energy storage?

Dan