Is Global Energy Use Getting Better?

Every day, I get updates on various energy data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Earlier this week I got one showing the graph below, indicating that energy intensity for the whole world is going down. That’s a good thing, so I posted it to my social media networks. It means we’re extracting more economic output from each unit of energy that we use. That’s only one small part of the whole picture of energy use, however, and someone who saw my post responded with another part.

Every day, I get updates on various energy data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Earlier this week I got one showing the graph below, indicating that energy intensity for the whole world is going down. That’s a good thing, so I posted it to my social media networks. It means we’re extracting more economic output from each unit of energy that we use. That’s only one small part of the whole picture of energy use, however, and someone who saw my post responded with another part.

global-energy-intensity-1990-2015-us-eia.png

 Yes, energy use relative to economic output is going down, but if you look at per capita energy use, the trend is in the other direction. Here are the per capita data pulled from the EIA website. 

world-primary-energy-use-per-capita-us-eia.png

From 1990 to 2015, global energy intensity dropped 32%. From 1990 to 2011, per capita energy use increased 14%. One looks good. The other looks bad. With the climate change problems we’re facing, we’d rather see the second one decreasing because so much of our energy use is directly tied to carbon emissions. But there’s another part of this story, too.

Of the 7.4 billion people who inhabit the Earth, about 3 billion cook their meals over open fires every day. There are a lot of people on the planet who are very poor compared to Western standards. Some of those people live in countries that have benefited by the increasingly globalized economy. Their standard of living and energy use have gone up. Is that a bad thing?

women-gathering-firewood-for-cooking-charley-cross.jpg

As it turns out, we’re all in this together. We can’t tell people in those poor countries that they can’t have what we have because they’ll kill the planet. We need to help them raise their standard of living and that means their per capita energy use will rise.

But we can help them do it in ways that don’t create as much climate-damaging carbon. Those 3 billion people cooking over open fires dream of having gas or electric ranges to cook on. Solar cookers, however, may not have the razzle-dazzle of modern cookstoves, but they improve lives.

Women who have been spending many hours a day gathering fuel for cooking can set up a solar cooker in just a few minutes. They don’t have to breathe the smoke anymore. They’re not deforesting the land. And they have time to learn to read, teach their children, and improve their lives in many ways. This is why I donate regularly to Solar Cookers International (and am a new board member as well).

Another side of this story is where the energy comes from. Yes, per capita energy use is growing, but so is the use of renewable energy. In 1990, fossil fuels were responsible for 86% of primary energy consumption. In 2015, they had dropped to 81%. Renewable energy sources went from 7% to 10% during the same period. (See Table 1.1 on the Primary Energy Overview page on the EIA website.) Yes, fossil fuel use still grew 10% during that period, but renewable energy sources grew 62%.

Energy use and the problems that stem from it are a complex global issue. It’s easy for those of us in rich countries to miss the big picture sometimes. When I think about the 3 billion people still cooking all their meals over open fires and the hours each day they spend looking for fuel, I realize that problems I have with my computer crashing or the driver who’s not in the right lane really are insignificant.

In short, I don’t have a problem with per capita energy use increasing. Yes, those of us in rich countries have a lot of opportunity to reduce our energy use, but I actually think rising per capita energy use, at least in the short term, is a good thing overall because so many people live on so little energy now. It can’t continue indefinitely, obviously, but let’s focus our attention on the right things:  reducing energy use where we can and helping those who are increasing their energy use to do so with renewable sources.

 

Related Articles

Fun in the Sun: The 2015 Solar Cooking Festival

2 Decades of Danny’s Home Energy Data

Total Energy Use Down in US, Wind & Solar Up

 

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This Post Has 7 Comments

  1. Not sure how they measuring
    Not sure how they measuring the amount of firewood people are using to cook at remote locations (color me a little skeptical of those estimates), however, it’s also important to note that per-capita energy use in the United States has been declining since 2000, which perhaps coincides, at least somewhat, to CFL adoption.

    Side note: Allison, have you ever considered switching to Disqus comments? It’s a managed system that allows users one log in across the whole web. It’s a lot cleaner and easier for posting.

  2. Alketi, thanks for adding
    Alketi, thanks for adding that piece about per capita energy use in the US. CFLs are probably part of the reason, but I’m sure there are more contributing factors. Airtightness of buildings, for example, has increased because many building codes now require testing.

    Regarding Disqus, that’s a good question. We’re about to launch a completely built website and I’m not sure what the new one uses for comments. I’ll ask today.

  3. Yes, we appear to be moving
    Yes, we appear to be moving in the right direction; shifting towards efficiency and renewable energy sources, and raising the quality of life for those at the bottom of the global economy.

    SCI is a worthy organization that has been in it for the long haul. As I recall, NASA, Home Power Magazine, and others used to have a solar cooker design challenges each year. Has SCI ever engaged in such an event?

    Another worthy organization, Waka Waka http://us.waka-waka.com/ sells solar lights and solar-powered cell phone chargers. Buy one and they’ll send one to a person in need in a third world country. Without solar-powered lights, folks are using kerosene lamps which creates indoor pollution.

    There is also Gravity Light https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gravitylight-2-made-in-africa#/ which is a gravity-powreed light.

    There are efforts to promote GoBar gas (biogas) in place of burning wood for cooking and heating in India, Thailand, and Nepal.

    The Greenbelt Movement http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/ started by Wangari Maathai works to increase forestation and water harvesting.

    With all the worthy causes to help poor communities improve their quality of life by moving towards sustainable energy sources, wouldn’t all these causes be more efficient if they collaborated into supporting communities-as-a-system?

    Healthcare, small local manufacturing, renewable energy, passive solar huts, electric transportation, water purification, and permaculture farming could all benefit from increased collaboration among groups such as Solar Cooker International and others.

    It’s quite possible that supporting communities-as-a-system may eventually show industrial nations the many benefits of sustainable and efficient energy use in our communities.

  5. Very interesting post –
    Very interesting post – thanks for the good write up about this.

    One thing with solar stoves is that you can make breakfast, dinner (at night night time) or a warm meal on a cold rainy day.
    They also have a life cycle manufacturing and disposal aspects to be considered – how much plastic, metal for 3 billion cookers?

    I personally believe a hybrid efficient cooking system is the way to go, a mix of what users decide is best for their type of cooking, fossil gas, LPG, electric and of course charcoal for the occasional BBQ 😉

    Luckily in a way, tree’s are amazing solar batteries, they make air, rain and soil, are home to hundreds of mirco-fauna and are easy to grow http://kenyacharcoal.blogspot.co.ke/2011/10/grow-and-make-your-own-charcoal-in-half.html

    How will we (ironically) control the energy used for our new digital era? http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2015/10/can-the-internet-run-on-renewable-energy.html

    and mad things like http://motherboard.vice.com/read/bitcoin-could-consume-as-much-electricity-as-denmark-by-2020

  6. Energy use is increasing and
    Energy use is increasing and will be due to the number of the masses increasing. The real area we should be worried about is how much harm the current usage is doing to us. Please note by masses I mean humans, not animals.

  7. thank you Mr. Bailes for this
    thank you Mr. Bailes for this great information site. it is as far as i’ve seen THE resource about all things energy / energy conservation related.
    For that reason, i hope that you’re new web site or a follow up and switch to Disqus will not change the ease with which myself and others can access the valuable information you provide.
    mike hamilton

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