Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The eruption of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia in 1815 shows us what happens
when even a fraction of 'anyway energy' is lost. The gigantic quantities of volcanic
gases and dust that were emitted into the atmosphere reduced the amount of sunlight
available in the following years. In 1816 and 1817 Europe experienced massive crop
failures. Ten thousand people died of starvation. If something like this happened
today, we would suffer similar consequences. A large proportion of the energy that
safeguards our food supply comes from a natural source - the sun. The small and
diminishing supply of fossil and nuclear energy could not come anywhere close to
compensating for even relatively minor fl uctuations in natural energy.
The question then is what is 'anyway energy' worth? In Europe in 2007 oil cost
more than 4 cents (euro) per kilowatt hour before tax; natural gas was 2 cents and
rising. Because solar radiation and wind power cannot be stored as easily as oil and
natural gas, their value should be set at half that of natural gas, thus 1 cent per kilo-
watt hour. Hydropower, on the other hand, would be set at 1.5 cents per kilowatt
hour because it is easier to store. The total value of 'anyway energy' can thus be
valued at about 6.5 trillion euros per year. According to this calculation, anyway
solar energy alone is worth around 4 trillion euros. And in the USA it is worth the
equivalent of 100 trillion euros.
Natural renewable forms of energy in the order of 567 trillion kilowatt hours are
not recorded as a separate entry in statistical calculations in Germany. This means
that the public perception of the energy supply is distorted. We are left with the
false impression that fossil and nuclear energy sources make up the major portion
of our energy supply. In reality, the share from these sources is less than 1% and
we should be replacing this with renewable energies as soon as possible to protect
the climate. Natural renewable forms of energy to the value of around 6.5 trillion
euros are available to us today free of charge. We cannot afford to ignore this
option.
1.4 Energy Supplies - Wealth Forever
When we use fossil energy sources today, we are utilizing solar energy that was
stored millions of years ago - but without the possibility of renewing this source in
the foreseeable future. Yet our current hunger for energy is so great that most of
the known fossil deposits will be used up during the 21st century. And suitable
deposits of fuel uranium for conventional nuclear plants are also becoming rarer.
For decades pessimists have been warning about the imminent end to fossil energy
reserves. Yet this end never quite seems to be in sight, and most people take no
heed of the warnings. It was not until oil prices started their steep spiral in 2000
that the message that 'black gold' would one day run out sank home.
In the past constant technological advances in the exploitation of oil and natural gas
have always resulted in a revision of the forecasts about how long reserves would
last. The large coal reserves still available worldwide, in particular, could enable us
to use fossil energy sources for decades or even another century.
