2.

6 Electricity
Unit 2 | Population and Energy

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Electricity

We make electricity by converting various fuel sources

into a platform that can be distributed to consumers.

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The Benefits of Electricity

Electricity has improved the quality of life throughout

the world. We can refrigerate vaccines, preserve fruits
and vegetables, and keep ourselves warm when it's
freezing or cool when it's hot outside. It's allowed us to
advance medical procedures and techniques (X-rays,
EKGs, MRIs) that have extended mortality rates. But depending on the source of the
electricity, there are societal costs that are not factored into the benefits of electricity.

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Global Light Map

You can glean a lot of information by

studying this light map for a moment.
You can see where dense human
populations are and in general, the
brighter the lights, the more energy that
is consumed. These light levels also
reflect the areas with the higher air
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
In drier areas of the world you can even
make out major river systems.
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Electricity Fuel Sources—Coal

Fuel source Percent, 2009 Percent, 2012

Coal 47% 42%

Natural gas 20% 26%

Nuclear 20% 19%

Hydro 7% 7%

Renewables 4% 5%

Remember that most electricity production involves converting water to steam. We continue
to use coal as our main heating source here, but with hydrofracking and the lower prices of
natural gas in the United States, utilities have shifted from coal to natural gas.

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Electricity Fuel Sources—Nuclear

Though the United States hasn't built a new nuclear facility in decades, it continues to be a
significant source for electricity at about 20% of total electricity production in the United
States.

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Electricity Fuel Sources—Hydro

In the United States, we've pretty much maxed out our hydropower resources. There are
only so many rivers you can dam up. Droughts have also hindered the use of hydropower. So
there is not a lot of electricity growth from hydropower.

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Electricity Fuel Sources—Natural Gas

In a strikingly short period of time, we've increased our natural gas sources by about 6%.
Environmental regulations have put pressure on old coal-fired power plants with no air
pollution controls. But the main reason for the shift is the big drop in natural gas prices
because of all the increased natural gas production from hydrofracking.

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Peaker Plants
Some natural gas plants are used only on extremely hot days
during peak time, when more energy is needed to accommodate
the millions of air conditioners being used to cool homes and
offices. Since the natural gas infrastructure is already in place,
some utilities simply started using their natural gas peaker plants to
provide continuous electricity generation.

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Worldwide Electricity Consumption

Consumption (no units

Event and year (for events specifically labeled on the chart) provided)

End of World War II, 1945 Less than 1,000

First oil price shock, 1973 Just below 6,000

Second oil price shock, 1979 Just below 8,000

U.S. recession, 1981 About 8,000

Black Monday stock market crash, 1986 About 10,000

Asian economic crisis, 1998 Just below 14,000

Dot-com bubble burst, 2001 About 15,000

Global credit crunch, 2009 About 19,000

U.S. consumption, 2009 Just above 4,000

This graph shows the exponential increase in electricity consumption throughout the world despite
major events. Global consumption dropped off a little for a time, due to the recent recession, but
electricity demand continues to grow. Most of this growth can be attributed to developing nations
like India, China, and Brazil. As their economies grow and more people enter the middle class,
they consume more electricity.

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What's Causing U.S. Consumption to Rise?

We've doubled our consumption per U.S. household since the 1950s. This is
partly because of the bigger houses that need more electricity to heat and
cool—never mind the additional building supplies to house a family. Will this
trend continue?

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Smaller Houses
Lots of people are simplifying their lives, consuming less, and building
smaller, more sustainable homes. This not only allows one to reduce his or
her carbon footprint, but it raises the question "Did I really need all that
space to begin with?" Some larger homes have rooms that are used just
for storage. This raises another question: "Did I really need all that stuff?"

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Gadgetry
With our big-screen televisions, cell phones, laptops, iPads, video game
consoles, microwaves, and so on, we're plugged in like never before.
Overall, this stuff may not seem like much in comparison to large
homes, but altogether they certainly add up with their sheer numbers.

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Electric Vehicles
So when considering the landscape for liquid fuels, electrification of the
transportation system seems a logical thing to seriously consider.
Though if we electrify vehicles, we need more power generation and
more aluminum and copper transmission lines. If you factor in the
millions of cars on our roads today and that a car can last for about 10+
years, you realize the transition will take time.
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Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles could add the equivalent of another household or two worth
of electricity. Where would that electricity come from? Look at Slide 4
again. In many states, coal would be the primary energy source for
powering potentially millions of electric cars. What impact would that have on
the environment?

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Electric Vehicles and Coal

One might assume that electric cars would be better for climate change, but if the power
source depends heavily on coal, it may make climate change worse. Coal is mostly found in
the middle of the United States, so these states tend to rely heavily on coal. It may also add
more pressure to produce coal from less desirable practices like mountain top removal in the
Appalachian Mountains.

Although many of the lawmakers in charge of regulating greenhouse gas emissions come
from the West and East Coasts, most manufacturing jobs are in the Midwest. On a map
showing the amount of coal used to generate electric power in 2006, the states with the
largest contributions are Texas, the Midwest, and (to a somewhat lesser extent) the
Southeast. Western and New England states with minimal coal deposits use a comparatively
tiny amount of coal.

When a state votes on energy policy, you have to consider its energy resources. It's very
easy for states like California, Oregon, and Washington to move away from coal because
they hardly use it. Indiana and Ohio would be more reluctant. All this makes a coordinated
national energy policy and climate change mitigation strategy so divisive.