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4/14/11

US_Energy_Flow_2009.png

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Geo: Just to be clear: is the rejected' energy the waste lost in
> the stream? It's a bit over half the total. I wonder how much could
> be recovered/ not wasted?
>

"Rejected energy" is energy that does not do useful work. It is a
gross measure of efficiency. The percentages are 57% waste to 43%
work. Transportation being the most inefficient and electrical
generation following. Electrical efficiency, according to Thomas Casten in 2008, peaked in 1960 in the US and has been falling since 2000. There's quite a lot of that which could be recovered and used
but outdated regulation and infrastructure gets in the way. Casten
says he could do industrial and commercial cogeneration profitably to
a much greater extent with the change of regulations and some laws.
> And then there's all the waste from using a big car to transport one
> person, heating a large leaky building, -- and making weapons, like
> bombs that are gone in an instant and damage someone else's energy
> economy-- to say the least.
>
These are all issues that this gross analysis does not cover. Amory
Lovins and others talk about 90% of everything going into the dump
after 6 months of use. Second Law Economics could identify many more
opportunities for efficiency without going into the "moral" questions
of SUVs for one, McMansions, and war. We are surrounded by
insurmountable opportunities and, in energy, most of the conversation
is about the magic solar crystal which is too expensive, the bird-
killing eyesore of wind farms, and the putative safety of nuclear
power. Efficiency and waste, resource conservation and elegant
frugality are an afterthought, if mentioned at all.
> Makes you wonder how little we could get by with if we acted
> rationally.
>

We are not rational creatures though we like to pretend we are.

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Ten Reasons To Say No To Nuclear Power

1. Climate change is underway. Renewable energy can be brought online faster, more cheaply and more safely than nuclear power. 2. Reactors are sitting-duck targets and are not even defended to the ferocity of the 9/11 attacks. 3. Nuclear power is not emissions-free. Reactors routinely release radioactivity and use fossil fuels at every step from uranium mining to waste storage. 4. Building more reactors in the U.S. sends the wrong message abroad. Commercial nuclear technology inevitably leads to nuclear weapons capability. 5. The Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive dump is unsound and even if opened could not accommodate all wastes if generation continues. 6. Evacuation plans are unrealistic. Hurricane Katrina taught us that a mass evacuation during a serious radiological release would be a chaotic catastrophe. 7. A typical 1000 megawatt nuclear reactor produces enough plutonium each year to make 40 atomic bombs, an unacceptable risk. 8. New and old reactors are most prone to break down. U.S. reactors are old. New ones increase the risk of accident. 9. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission—mandated to watchdog the nuclear industry – chooses to protect industry profit over public health and safety. 10. The most defenseless are at the greatest risk—children, the elderly, minorities, the poor and animals—at every phase of the nuclear fuel chain. Ten Brighter Ideas 1. If every U.S. household installed one compact fluorescent light bulb, the power savings would equal the power produced by one nuclear reactor. 1=1! 2. Twenty compact fluorescents in every U.S. home could displace at least 25% of U.S. nuclear reactors. 3. Updated lighting, appliances, heating, cooling and other electrical systems can save more energy than all 103 U.S. reactors produce annually. 4. Cost-effective energy efficiency measures for homes and businesses can save at least 20% of electricity use. 5. Turning off and unplugging electrical equipment not in use and line-drying clothes seem like small measures but can make a big difference. 6. Homeowners and renters alike can choose to buy green power instead of nuclear generated electricity. 7. Properly sealing and insulating your home can save 25%-40% of building heat loss. 8. Renewable energy sources can meet 25% of U.S. energy needs by 2025. 9. Shifting to locally-generated electricity avoids waste, reduces brownouts and blackouts, increases efficiency of service and creates jobs. 10. Every dollar spent on nuclear power instead of fossil fuels results in releasing six times more carbon than if the same dollar is spent on efficiency. www.nirs.org 301.270.6477

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4/14/11