When Just Focusing on Clean Energy isn't Enough

Dear World Leaders, and other notable COP 21 Attendees,

While we should all applaud Bill Gates and the Breakthrough Energy Coalition's effort in its efforts to develop clean energy solutions, development of such solutions are not only expensive, but also has a long lead time. In addition, one of the key downsides for renewable energy solutions that are known today (solar, wind, etc.) are intermittent. One of the primary means to hopefully solve the intermittent issues is through energy storage. However, energy storage projects are expensive and can't be scaled extensively yet.

All that being said, this doesn't mean that we should stop investments in developing clean energy solutions and energy storage solutions. However, it is important to note that while the generation of energy is important, how consumers use the energy produced is equally as important and maybe even more vital than you might think.

Usable Energy and Energy Efficiency

Let's put some numbers first. Based on 2013 IEA data, the United States total energy consumption was 1496 Mtoe (million tons of oil equivalent) [1]. In the same year, other industrialized countries had a far lower total energy consumption, including Germany (224.9 Mtoe) and Japan (311.3 Mtoe) [2,3]. US's per person total energy consumption was ~4.13 Mtoe. Both Germany and Japan had a lower per person total energy consumption by a little less than half.

While it is nice to place blame on US's car-dependent infrastructure and  fragile dependence on cars & trucks to move goods and people around, transportation accounts for about 40% of the total consumption. Interestingly, residential and commercial energy consumption make about 30% of US energy consumption. I have stated it in other posts, but collective energy savings on the consumption-side can help lower the energy budget significantly.

The Energy-Water-[X] Relationship

There are many ways in lowering our total energy consumption without making significant sacrifices and can be done with existing tools and technologies. However, understanding that the connection and the tie back to energy is the actual hard part.

Let's take water for example. Not mentioned in many climate discussions and talks are ways to reduce water consumption and wastage. As mentioned in a post earlier, both the transport and production of water requires energy. In addition, since water is required in the generation of electricity, including renewables (think solar!), reduction of water consumption and wastage can help significantly reduce our energy consumption.

Take for a moment and imagine something in which the 21st century person depends on. I can guarantee that both energy and water are vital dependencies. This is especially true of growing food. Even growing organically, hydroponically, or using fertilizers, water and energy are both a key factor in this relationship. Reduction of food wastage would help reduce wasted energy and water. That is why I decided "X" should be included in the relationship.

While the Paris talks are still underway, I would like policymakers and negotiators to keep in mind that tackling the complexities that is climate change doesn't have to depend on expensive, time-intensive solutions. Such solutions, while useful when developed, should only be part of the many-faceted efforts in keeping our planet towards a more sustainable and resilient future.

Sincerely, A Concerned Citizen

Note: This weblog does not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my employer. It is solely my opinion.