Energy/Oil & Some Politics

This term I'm taking an environmental sociology course as part of my MPH load. This coming week's focus is on energy. So in an effort to share what I'm thinking about, I decided the easiest way to do this might be to just attempt to highlight things that stick out to me and post them here.

From the reading:

Harper, Charles L. (2008). Environment and Society: Human Perspectives on Environmental Issues. Pearson Prentice Hall.

-Between 1890 and 1990, total global energy consumption increased by 14x.

-Dependence on oil shapes foreign policy problems, including our current situation in Iraq.

-At current consumption rates, 80% of known oil reserves will last for another 40-90 years. (Hence "peak oil crisis" which is to arive between 2010 and 2020).

-The above estimate does not take into consideration the growing economies, production, & consumption of other nations (such as India and China).

-One American consumes as much energy as 3 Japanese, 6 Mexicans, 14 Chinese, 38 Indians, 168 Bangladeshis, 280 Nepalis, or 531 Ethiopians.

-By 2100, most estimates are that the world would need 4x the amount of energy that is produced today.

-The "cost" of energy that we pay today does NOT include pollution clean-up, military spending on protecting our sources, medical bills & insurance premiums due to air quality issues, noise pollution, time wasted in traffic jams, loss of biodiversity, government tax breaks for oil companies. I can't help but wonder if we would pay for it, if we had to include the total costs of items such as this.

-Natural gas, while a cleaner fossil fuel, is imported primarily from Canada to the U.S. and is expected to peak between 2020 and 2030.

-Currently the U.S. only utilizes 7% of its total energy from alternative sources (hydro, wind, solar). Estimates are that alternative sources has the capability to produce half the world's energy within the next 50 years. ....Now if only someone would fund it.....

To see how the presidental candidates compare on energy issues, please go here.

I'm not a huge fan of Obama's support for "clean" coal, nor that both of them are open to nuclear. But at least it gives a better idea of how they stand on a variety of energy categories.

Personally I'm all about the wind and the sun: