Power Hungry
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10 Areva, All About Nuclear Energy: From Atom to Zirconium (Paris: Areva, 2008).
11 BP, Statistical Review of World Energy 2009.
12 “Oil Industry Conversions,” http://www.eppo.go.th/ref/UNIT-OIL.html.
APPENDIX B: SI NUMERICAL DESIGNATIONS
As discussed in Chapter 3, SI units are an essential part of modern life. We use many SI numerical designations—milli, mega, nano—on a regular basis without recognizing that they are part of a larger system. Given the fact that most Americans are only passingly familiar with these terms, it makes sense to examine all of the designations—starting with “yocto” and “yotta”—and understand what they mean.
The difference between yocto and yotta is the difference between a septillionth and a septillion. Between yocto, the SI prefix for 10–24, and yotta (sometimes spelled yota), the SI prefix for 1024, there are 48 zeroes. It’s the difference between 0.000,000,000,000,000,000,000,001 and 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. But in SI, those numbers would be written without the commas, thus, yocto is: 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001; and yotta is: 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000.
Herewith, the SI numerical designations and their symbols.
TABLE B.1 SI Numerical Designations, Prefixes, and Symbols
Number Prefix Symbol
10 -24 yocto- y
10 -21 zepto- z
10 -18 atto- a
10 -15 femto- f
10 -12 pico- p
10 -9 nano- n
10 -6 micro- u (greek mu)
10 -3 milli- m
10 -2 centi- c
10 -1 deci- d
10 1 deka- da
10 2 hecto- h
10 3 kilo- k
10 6 mega- M
10 9 giga- G
10 12 tera- T
10 15 peta- P
10 18 exa- E
10 21 zeta- Z
10 24 yotta- Y
Source: Math.com, “Number Notation: Hierarchy or Decimal Notation,” http://www.math.com/tables/general/numnotation.htm.
APPENDIX C: AMERICA’S CONVOLUTED ENERGY REGULATORY STRUCTURE
In 1971, the Christian Science Monitor estimated that federal energy policy was determined by forty-eight federal agencies and fourteen congressional committees.b In 2009, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy estimated that there were twenty-four federal agencies and twenty-five congressional committees playing roles in shaping energy policy:c
Federal Agencies
U.S. Government Departments
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Department of Defense
U.S. Department of Energy
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Treasury
U.S. Department of Transportation
Other Government Agencies
Export Import Bank of the United States
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Northwest Power and Conservation Council
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Tennessee Valley Authority
U.S. Agency for International Development
U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. International Trade Commission
U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Congressional Committees
House Agriculture
House Appropriations
House Armed Services
House Budget
House Energy and Commerce
House Foreign Affairs
House Homeland Security
House Natural Resources
House Oversight and Government Reform
House Rules Committee
House Science and Technology
House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
House Transportation and Infrastructure
House Ways and Means
Senate Agriculture
Senate Appropriations
Senate Armed Services
Senate Budget
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Senate Environment and Public Works
Senate Finance
Senate Foreign Relations
Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs
Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs
APPENDIX D: COUNTRIES RANKED BY PRIMARY ENERGY CONSUMPTION, 2007 325
TABLE D.1 World’s Most Coal-Dependent Countries
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2008, http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/pdf/statistical_review_of_world_energy_full_review_2008.pdf.
TABLE D.2 World’s Most Oil-Dependent Countries
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2008, http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/pdf/statistical_review_of_world_energy_full_review_2008.pdf.
TABLE D.3 World’s Most Natural Gas–Dependent Countries
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2008, http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/pdf/statistical_review_of_world_energy_full_review_2008.pdf.
TABLE D.4 World’s Most Nuclear-Dependent Countries
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2008, http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/pdf/statistical_review_of_world_energy_full_review_2008.pdf.
TABLE D.5 World’s Most Hydro-Dependent Countries
Source: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2008, http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/pdf/statistical_review_of_world_energy_full_review_2008.pdf.
APPENDIX E: U.S. AND WORLD PRIMARY ENERGY CONSUMPTION, BY SOURCE, 1973 AND 2008
TABLE E.1 U.S. and World Primary Energy Consumption, by Source, 1973 and 2008
Sources: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009, http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/2009_downloads/renewables_section_2009.pdf. For ethanol data, see Renewable Fuels Association, “Statistics,” http://www.ethanolrfa.org/industry/statistics/. For U.S. wind and solar data, see Energy Information Administration, Table ES1.B, “Total Electric Power Industry Summary Statistics,” http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/tablees1b.html.
NOTES
Author’s Note
1 Shannon Hale, “Write What You Don’t Know,” Squeetusblog, December 10, 2008, http://oinks.squeetus.com/2008/12/write-what-you-dont-know.html.
Introduction
1 For more information, see Joy Mining Machinery’s website at http://www.joy.com.
2 Energy Information Administration, Table 9, “Major U.S. Coal Mines,” http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/acr/table9.html; author communication with the mine’s general manager, Eric Anderson, via e-mail, March 2, 2009. According to Anderson, the mine produced 5.75 tons of coal per employee per hour in 2008.
3 In 2007, the average for underground coal mines was 3.34 tons per employee per hour. Energy Information Administration, Table 21, “Coal Mining Productivity by State and Mine Type,” http://www.e
ia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/acr/table21.html.
4 Eric Anderson, interview with author, February 20, 2009. In 2008, the mine produced 5.6 million tons of coal. That’s 15,342 tons per day.
5 A barrel of oil contains approximately 5.8 million Btu. Energy Information Administration, “Energy Calculators,” http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/science/energy_calculator.html.
6 Energy Information Administration, Table 1.1.A, “Net Generation by Other Renewables: Total (All Sectors),” http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table1_1_a.html.
7 Converting electricity to oil terms is a straightforward calculation: One barrel of oil contains the energy equivalent of 1.64 megawatt-hours of electricity. Thus, 52,869,000 megawatt-hours, divided by 1.64 megawatt-hours (the amount per barrel of oil) = 32,237,195 barrels of oil equivalent from wind and solar for all of 2008. Dividing those 32,237,195 barrels of oil equivalent by 365 days (to determine daily energy production) gives us 88,321 barrels of oil equivalent per day from all solar and wind power generation in the United States.
8 Eric Anderson, interview with author, February 20, 2009. Wind-capacity data is from American Wind Energy Association, “Wind Energy Grows by Record 8,300 MW in 2008,” January 27, 2009, http://www.awea.org/newsroom/releases/wind_energy_growth2008_27Jan09.html.
9 I would like to thank Tulsa-based professional land surveyor Chris Cauthon for his tutorial on Points of Beginning. See also Andro Linklater, Measuring America: How the United States Was Shaped by the Greatest Land Sale in History (New York: Plume, 2002), 2.
10 Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, “North America: United States,” https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html#Econ.
11 See Van Jones, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems (New York: HarperOne, 2008), and Greenjobs, http://www.greenjobs.com/public/index.aspx. For Obama’s statement, see his energy platform, available at http://my.barackobama.com/issues/newenergy/index.php.
12 For more on the corn ethanol scam, see my book Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of “Energy Independence” (New York: PublicAffairs, 2008).
13 The International Energy Agency puts recoverable global gas resources at 850 trillion cubic meters. See IEA, World Energy Outlook 2009, Executive Summary, 49. A cubic meter contains 35.3 cubic feet.
14 Global gas consumption is about 3 trillion cubic meters per year. See BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009, http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/2009_downloads/renewables_section_2009.pdf.
15 White House, “Remarks by President Barack Obama,” Prague, Czech Republic, April 5, 2009, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-By-President-Barack-Obama-In-Prague-As-Delivered/.
16 “Environmental Statement on Nuclear Energy and Global Warming,” June 2005, http://www.citizen.org/documents/GroupNuclearStmt.pdf.
17 Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don’t (New York: HarperCollins, 2001), 65.
18 Ibid., 69.
Chapter 1
1 Areva, All About Nuclear Energy: From Atom to Zirconium (Paris: Areva, 2008), 8.
2 For Hannibal, see John Noble Wilford, “The Mystery of Hannibal’s Elephants,” New York Times, September 18, 1984, http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/18/science/the-mystery-of-hannibal-s-elephants.html?sec=health. For Saturn V, see Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, “Apollo 11 Factoids,” n.d., http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/apollo11/factoids.html.
3 BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009, http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/reports_and_publications/statistical_energy_review_2008/STAGING/local_assets/2009_downloads/renewables_section_2009.pdf. Hydrocarbons provide about 89 percent of all the commercial energy consumed in the United States. Globally, it’s 88 percent.
4 TED.com, “Stewart Brand Proclaims 4 Environmental Heresies,” June 2009. Video available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUxwiVFgghE.
5 For Romm’s rantings, see Climateprogress.org.
6 Set America Free, “Set America Free Update E-mail,” January 29, 2007, www.setamericafree.org/safupdate012907.htm.
7 Environment New Jersey, “Report Says Fossil Fuels Status Quo Will Cost New Jersey Billions; Urges Clean Energy Solutions,” June 30, 2009, http://www.environmentnewjersey.org/newsroom/energy/energy-program-news/report-says-fossil-fuels-status-quo-will-cost-new-jersey-billions-urges-clean-energy-solutions.
8 These issues are fully discussed in my last book, Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of “Energy Independence” (New York: PublicAffairs, 2008).
9 Energy Information Administration, “Petroleum Navigator,” http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mttexus2M.htm.
10 Energy Information Administration, “Country Energy Profiles,” http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/country/index.cfm.
11 Keith Crane, Andreas Goldthau, Michael Toman, Thomas Light, Stuart E. Johnson, Alireza Nader, Angel Rabasa, and Harun Dogo, “Imported Oil and US National Security,” Rand Corporation, May 11, 2009, http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG838.pdf, xvi.
12 Edward Gismatullin, “BP Makes ‘Giant’ Oil Discovery in Gulf of Mexico,” Bloomberg, September 2, 2009, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adF31W9._rik.
13 BP press release, September 2, 2009, http://www.bp.com/genericarticle.do?categoryId=2012968&contentId=7055818. The other participants in the well are Petrobras, with a 20 percent stake, and ConocoPhillips, with 18 percent.
14 Steven Bodzin and Daniel Cancel, “Spain’s Repsol Says It Makes Venezuela’s Biggest Gas Discovery,” Bloomberg, September 12, 2009, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aHpa4d9ORrz0. See also Repsol, “Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Announces Repsol’s Largest Ever Gas Find,” September 22, 2009, http://www.repsol.com/es_en/todo_sobre_repsol_ypf/sala_de_prensa/noticias/ultimas_noticias/bloque-cardon.aspx.
15 Anadarko Petroleum, “Anadarko Announces Discovery Offshore Sierra Leone,” September 16, 2009, http://www.anadarko.com/Investor/Pages/NewsReleases/NewsReleases.aspx?release-id=1332358.
16 Petrobras, “New Discover [sic] in the Santos Basin Pre-Salt,” September 14, 2009, http://www2.petrobras.com.br/portal/frame_ri.asp?pagina=/ri/ing/index.asp&lang=en&area=ri.
17 BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009.
18 Andrew C. Revkin, “Campaign Against Emissions Picks Number,” New York Times, October 24, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/science/earth/25threefifty.html.
19 Climate Progress, “Rajendra Pachauri Endorses 350 ppm, Not as IPCC Chair but ‘as a Human Being,’” August 25, 2009, http://climateprogress.org/2009/08/25/ipcc-chair-rajendra-pachauri-350-ppm-bill-mckibben/.
20 Late Show with David Letterman, November 3, 2009, http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/video/?pid=Pvb2AfVeGFHFfegRj7cbeENTolRNrecs&vs=Big%20Show%20Highlights&play=true.
21 Nanet Poulsen, “192 Nations at UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen,” Associated Press, December 7, 2009, http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2855.
22 Andrew C. Revkin and John M. Broder, “A Grudging Accord in Climate Talks,” New York Times, December 19, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/science/earth/20accord.html?scp=1&sq=copenhagen%20and%20broder&st=cse.
23 Vaclav Smil, “Moore’s Curse and the Great Energy Delusion,” The American, November 19, 2008, http://www.american.com/archive/2008/november-december-magazine/moore2019s-curse-and-the-great-energy-delusion.
24 Ibid.
25 According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2009, global primary energy consumption in 2008 was about 11.3 billion tons of oil equivalent, or about 82.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent per year. Multiplying that figure by $60 per barrel gives us about $4.9 trillion.
Chapter 2
1 Amory Lovins, “Saving the Climate for Fun and Profit,” Yahoo! Green, June 7, 2007, http://green.yahoo.com/blog/amorylovins/1/saving-
the-climate-for-fun-and-profit.html.
2 Michael Mechanic, “Power Q&A: Amory Lovins,” Mother Jones, May/June 2008, http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/05/power-qa-amory-lovins.
3 Stone Phillips, “A Simple Solution to Pain at the Pump?” Dateline NBC, May 7, 2006, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12676374/.
4 Dana Childs, “Cellulosic Ethanol to Be Cost-Competitive by 2009, Says Khosla,” Cleantech.com, March 23, 2007, http://cleantech.com/news/928/cellulosic-ethanol-to-be-cost-competiti.
5 National Public Radio, “Al Gore’s Speech on Renewable Energy,” July 17, 2008, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92638501.
6 Al Gore, “The Climate for Change,” New York Times, November 9, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09gore.html.
7 Ted McKenna, “New Al Gore Campaign Applies Ads, Media for Grassroots Effort,” PR Week, April 4, 2008.
8 Wecansolveit.org, “Grassroots Partners,” http://www.wecansolveit.org/pages/partners/.
9 Jennifer Alsever, “Pickens’ Natural Gas Idea Picking Up Steam,” MSNBC, October 21, 2008, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27052462/.
10 Pickens Plan, http://media.pickensplan.com/pdf/pickensplan.pdf.
11 WorldPublicOpinion.org, “World Publics Strongly Favor Requiring More Wind and Solar Energy, More Efficiency, Even If It Increases Costs,” November 19, 2008, http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/btenvironmentra/570.php.
12 League of Conservation Voters, “Board of Directors,” http://www.lcv.org/about-lcv/board-of-directors/ (accessed December 29, 2008).
13 League of Conservation Voters, “Repower, Refuel, and Rebuild America,” http://action.lcv.org/campaign/repower_d (accessed December 29, 2008).