People send me stuff.
I got an email today that contained a blog post about another subject unrelated to climate or energy, but it had this graph in it that caught my eye:
The invention of the steam engine (which used coal and wood at first, with oil and natural gas coming later) seems to be the catalyst for change in the human race. Now that’s a hockey stick we can all get behind!
Wikipedia has a similar graph:
Data extracted from Angus Maddison’s “World Population, GDP and Per Capita GDP, 1-2003 AD”
And then there’s this one, going all the way back to 500 B.C.
Source: Victor V. Claar, “The Urgency of Poverty and the Hope of Genuinely Fair Trade,” Journal of Markets & Morality 16, no. 1 (Spring 2013): 274. GDP figures from J. Bradford DeLong, “Estimates of World GDP, One Million B.C.—Present.”
From the article:
This chart demonstrates just how real this “mountainous rise of well-being” has been over the last two centuries. What makes these economic gains even more astounding is that there has been a simultaneous population explosion. There are many more “capita” included in the “per capita” as the chart moves to the right, yet we still see enormous gains in per-capita GDP. As the economistDeidre McCloskey puts it,
Never had such a thing happened. Count it in your head: eight and half times more actual food and clothing and housing and education and travel and books for the average human being—even though there were six times more of them.
Yet a Barna Group survey released this past April found that most Americans remain unaware of these economic gains: “more than eight in 10 Americans (84%) are unaware global poverty has reduced so drastically. More than two-thirds (67%) say they thought global poverty was on the rise over the past three decades.” Both the reality of global poverty (1.2 billion people remain in extreme poverty) and the public perception of poverty’s pervasiveness and intractability deserve increased attention.
That downward blip around 1300 was likely due to the Great Famine of 1315:
The Great Famine of 1315–1317 (occasionally dated 1315–1322) was the first of a series of large scale crises that struck Northern Europe early in the fourteenth century. Places affected include continental Europe (extending east to Russia and south to Italy) as well as Great Britain. It caused millions of deaths over an extended number of years and marks a clear end to an earlier period of growth and prosperity between the eleventh to thirteenth centuries.
The Great Famine started with bad weather in spring 1315. Universal crop failures lasted through 1316 until the summer harvest in 1317, and Europe did not fully recover until 1322. The period was marked by extreme levels of crime, disease, mass death, and even cannibalism and infanticide. The crisis had consequences for the Church, state, European society, and for future calamities to follow in the fourteenth century.
Note that is was cold and rain, not excess warmth that caused this:
Between the early 14th and late 19th centuries, a period of cooling known as the Little Ice Age chilled the planet. Europe bore the brunt of its ill effects, experiencing harsh and fickle weather for several centuries and especially from 1560 to 1660. Scientists continue to debate the cause and timeline of the cold spell, which has been blamed for catastrophes ranging from droughts and famines to wars and epidemics. According to the latest study, described by an international team in this week’s Geophysical Research Letters, volcanic eruptions just before the year 1300 triggered the expansion of Arctic sea ice, setting off a chain reaction that lowered temperatures worldwide.
The Medieval Warm Period, lasting from about 950 to 1250, can also be seen on the graph. At around 1000 A.D., GDP peaked, then fell when weather turned cold and wet..
Then, the steam engine was invented, access to powerful yet inexpensive energy began, the industrial revolution took off, and the world never looked back.
The next time somebody tells you how terrible things are today, primarily due to fossil fuels, show them this graph and ask them if they’d like to go back to the sort of conditions then.
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Lower cost, high energy density fuels and the advances in engineering including sanitation and potable water supply — major drivers for the advances in both wealth and life spans.
I have shown this hundreds of times on twitter and numerous times on TV, How is this stunning? Per capita income, Length of life as well as population have all hockey sticked.
The conceit of the Left is that Mother Gaia loves us and we must live within her warm embrace. The reality is that she’s an indifferent bitch that would as soon kill as as anything else. Energy (and the knowledge on how to use it) removes us from the loving clutches of Mother Gaia’s plagues and droughts and floods and disease and pestilence. It’s only by using human ingenuity to exert control over our environment that we prosper as a species.
And that ingenuity is the only thing that will save us when Gaia comes to reap. We have one, maybe two, billion years while the Earth remains habitable due to Solar brightening. Windmills and bicycles won’t cut it when the environment itself is trying to kill you. We’ll need to command even more energy if we wish to continue to survive.
This is for all the engineers and mechanical geniuses of the world….
…. all those patient, persevering, skinned-knuckled, oil-spattered-faced, courageous, individuals who endured (and some still do) ridicule, scorn, loneliness, tears, and great personal danger to make our lives better……
The history of flight…. “Hold on Tight to Your Dreams” (ELO)
(youtube)
…. and also, this is for you, the latest generation of engineers, you synthetic chemists, software designers, and other unseen heroes of year after year in the laboratory, of all-nighters in front of the laptop, …. the space age took us farther and faster than we had ever gone…. now, your discoveries are taking us into new frontiers of technology just as wonderful, they are just quieter …. they are not as spectacular or widely recognized, but their effects on us all are far-reaching and powerful….
and, most of all,
this is for Anthony Watts and his weather station survey team: over 8 years of persistence and integrity and love of truth paid off ….. you DID IT!! You completed your mammoth effort for science truth, for accurate data, for FREEDOM from those who would use false data to enslave the rest of us in a socialist Tyranny.
Don’t give up! Truth wins — every time.
With deep gratitude to you ALL,
Janice
And if ANYONE says, “(sniff) Well, how did that space program work out for you? Nobody’s going to the moon for dinner — what a waste of time.”
I say:
You FOOL! Are — you — so — ignorant of history that you do not know just how much the freedom of the free world depended on those Gemini, Apollo, Saturn, etc… missions? Do you think “we will bury you” was an idle threat? Do you think that if we had let the Communists win the space race that you would even be reading this, today? Look at the wreck they have made of their own average citizens’ standard of living…. you would be lucky to have an indoor toilet, perhaps a calculator — a personal computer? LOL.
The entire history of flight led to many wonderful inventions, but the finest accomplishment of them all is: FREEDOM. We have our freedom today (and will maintain it with “peace through strength”) because — of — the — space — program. And engineers. And physicists. And computer scientists. And…. many of our own WUWT science giants.
And just how do you think those weather satellites got up there….
It is ONLY because of the space program, that we can boldly proclaim (with a delighted chuckle): CO2 UP. WARMING STOPPED. That fact is the “Little Boy” that has dealt a mortal blow to AGW tyranny.
“… the truth shall set you free… .”
GO, ENGINEERS —
GO, WATTS UP WITH THAT SCIENCE GIANTS!
#(:))
Way to go Janice.
And GO, JANICE!
Tim! …. Steve (Paris)!
Thank you. 🙂
Russia is winning the space race today.
emsnews, you are mistaken:
The Russians can do NOTHING in space without American ingenuity and equipment and cooperation. The phrase, “Russian win,” is, thus, inaccurate.
Russia is continuing to use decades old technology.
They have nothing that can compare to what private companies are currently developing.
Spurred by Russian adventurism in the Ukraine, at least two US companies have developed rocket engines, BE-4 and AR-1, to replace RD-180s. They may cost more, but will be superior.
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/bezos-vs-musk-blue-origin-ula-turn-heat-rocket-battle-n205581
Indur Goklany has several good essays on this subject. One is at
http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/humanity-unbound-how-fossil-fuels-saved-humanity-nature-nature-humanity
On the other hand, see his http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/04/19/biofuels-policy-may-kill-200000-per-year-in-the-third-world/
What a bonny** host we have …
Anthony Watts
(http://wattsupwiththat.com/2007/03/16/trains/ )
And no one even commented.
Well, here you go, Anthony, nearly 9 years later: You are one cool guy! I love trains, too! And we (and that “we” takes in the entire world, now!) are so blessed that you were born. Your love of all-things-wonderful is the driver of WUWT. Here’s to the next 10 years!
Janice
** because…. the Scots had a lot to do with steam power 🙂
***************************************************************************************
Steam Engine History (History Channel – youtube)
(from 2,000 years ago with the first “steam engine” to modern steam turbines)
“…. it freed … from … sources of power, like …. wind…”
D1e, windmills, d1e. Bwah, ha, ha, ha, haaaaaaaaaa!
#(:))
This is part of my 7 ¼ ” railway 5 yrs ago, its double that size now (~3,000’) & I’m building 2 tunnels 130’ & 148’long; plans for another 1,500’ Mad !!
Absolutely cool!
UM,
Someone forgot that Europe imported the Arabic number system and the concept of Zero in the 1200’s.
Just thought I’d get my II cents in. We are truly building on the shoulders of giants.
Mike
[From Indian minds; the concept was passed through Arabia as they conquered/taxed/traded with India, but WAS NOT invented there. .mod]
Oh, brother. AS IF the Hebrews were calculating interest and real property values and using cubits, etc… and the ancient mariners used vectors and time and fathoms and calculated latitude and navigated by the stars ….with no knowledge of 0 – 9. IOW: BFD.
Mod,
Quite true. Hindu numerals were invented in India in the early centuries AD, whence the base ten (originally nine) system spread to Persia in the 800s, thence via the Arabs to Europe.
When I was in college, the Indian engineers in my dorm still used Hindu numerals for their calculations, then transferred the results into European equivalents.
interesting, the famine of 1315-1317 was followed by the plague 1345-1351
Interesting but way back in the early days of green a social science student looking to do a PHd did a study proving that the end of slavery was more to do with cheaper energy making slavery no longer an economic necessity than it was to do with the campaigners so the statues to the freedom of slaves should have shown the miners. After submitting that idea he was never able to get a grant and left to do business.He admitted they had unintentionally done him a favour as he ended up director of mid range firm earning more a month than he would have done a year.
All societies seeking return to a simple way of life have had to resort to slavery even if they did call them socialist re education camps or similar sorts of names.
I also heard today a radio article saying about cleaning fluids etc causing asthma in the homes with not a mention that high energy costs have made us all block off draughts and reduce the air changes to a minimum being the real source of the problem.
causing asthma in the homes
======================
how many children play in dirt these days? how many eat mud pies? we did as kids. but our kids don’t.
we have millions of years of evolution, co-evolving with the organisms around us. we are not meant to grow up in a germ free, parasite free environment.
well…is civilisation really so great ?
http://www.ditext.com/diamond/mistake.html
There is also a similar relationship with gdp/capita and information density. Although the latter is difficult to quantify, one can get an intuitive understanding by recognising that all artefacts embody information. At the simplest level, a metal box can be described by 3 dimensions + the thickness and element of the material. Looking at the evolution of products, we can see that as you go from say, the model T Ford to a modern vehicle, the level of complexity, and hence information is increasing all the time. The model T was a square box fixed to a simple chassis. The engine was the simplest form of cylinders with moving pistons and carburettors. Since then, we have added aerodynamics, fuel injection, refinements to the internal structures of the engine based on calculations to improve efficiency, ABS, ergonomic and safety features, and now collision avoidance and self driving capability. The modern car embodies information orders of magnitude greater than the original model T.
Look at any of the other products – eg compare a modern smartphone with a 1920s rotary dial. Compare a modern 4k tv with the first black & white tubes. However, the interesting thing, is that not only is the information content increasing with time, but it is increasing at an exponential rate, and even the rate of increase is increasing exponentially.
Ray Kurzweil has made an interesting study of the rate of increase of data storage as seen in the field of IT. He suggests that Moores Law is actually only the fifth paradigm that models rate of increase of data storage, going back to the US census in 1896 and that each paradigm has a higher rate of exponent than the one preceding it. It is exciting that the rate of increase has now reached the point where you can discern it (Kurzweil argues that humans always perceive the progress rate as linear). Look at the advent of HD tv. From the time they first appeared until the price bottomed took about 7 years – that represents the full cycle of introduction through to saturation. For years, most hd tv’s were “hd ready” and you had to purchase expensive blu-ray devices to source the hd. The 4k tv has recently been introduced and it’s price is dropping much more rapidly. I believe that 4k source media will not be far behind, and the full cycle will be less that 7 years.
I believe that this exponential increase in information is responsible for the exponential increase in per capita gdp, as well as energy available. For example, car building robots use more energy that men with hand tools, but the robots would not be possible without the increase in information.
We must be careful here…unlike things such as sea level and temperature (/SARC), we cannot accurately measure “paleo GDP” to a high degree of accuracy. Whereas we can apparently measure average global temperatures from 2000 years ago to a tenth of a degree, these GDP numbers are just rough approximations.
BTW – I see the NYT has an article out saying that seal level is rising faster now than at any time over the last 2800 years. Amazing how gullible people are. Do they REALLY think we can measure that?
Yes, it is rising faster and faster which is why the very richest people on earth are building mansions right smack dab where this is happening. Heh. The ‘Living’ section of the NYT celebrates this as glorious and readers drool over these lovely mansions which supposedly are collapsing into the sea some day in the dim future.
sea level is rising faster now than at any time over the last 2800 years
=============================
was it CO2 that caused sea levels to rise faster 2800 years ago? How did people living 2800 years ago survive the rising sea levels then? How does one cope with 1 inch a decade of water rushing in? How can one escape this sort of an onrush?
Population density and energy density go hand in hand. The more people per square mile, the more energy required to support them. Today’s large, high density cities were impossible before the use of fossil fuel.
The skyscraper came long after the invention of cement and iron. What made it possible wasn’t material, it was energy. To pack thousands of people into a square mile of land and keep them alive takes energy. Lots of energy.
“This is why Rocket’s moment in history is unique. That soot-blackened locomotive sits squarely at the deflection point where a line describing human productivity (and therefore human welfare) that had been as flat as Kansas for a hundred centuries made a turn like the business end of a hockey stick. Rocket is when humanity finally learned to run twice as fast.
It’s still running today. If you examined the years since 1800 in twenty year-increments, and charted every way that human welfare can be expressed in numbers— not just annual per capita GDP, which climbed to more than $6,000 by 2000, but mortality at birth (in fact, mortality at any age); calories consumed; prevalence of disease; average height of adults; percentage of lifetime spent disabled; percentage of population enrolled in primary, secondary, and postsecondary education; illiteracy; and annual hours of leisure time— the chart will show every measure better at the end of the period than it was at the beginning. And the phenomenon isn’t restricted to Europe and North America; the same improvements have occurred in every region of the world. A baby born in France in 1800 could expect to live thirty years— twenty-five years less than a baby born in the Republic of the Congo in 2000. The nineteenth century French infant would be at a significant risk of starvation, infectious disease, and violence, and even if he or she were to survive into adulthood, would be far less likely to learn how to read…”
-William Rosen
The Most Powerful Idea in the World: A Story of Steam, Industry, and Invention
New York, New York 2010.
This book is a riveting, tour-de-force recounting of the Industrial Revolution that is beautifully written and thoroughly researched. Rosen is very clearly a bit of a polymath; he moves easily from the chemistry of iron and combustion to the geology of England’s Midlands to the physics of Newcomen’s steam engine to the inventions of John Smeaton.
This is a book that ought to be read by every person who purports to be educated.
[The mods concur, it is one important book (one of many), on our libraries’ shelves. .mod]
Other astonishing correlation:
http://climate.mr-int.ch/images/graphs/gdp_vs_carbon.png
And here there is causal relationship, not just a mere coincidence
At the risk of being accused of being a socialist party-pooper (which I’m not) and by no means aiming to deny that human quality of life has improved dramatically and proportionally with access to affordable & reliable electricity and mobility derived from fossil fuel use, does anyone know whether a plot of sovereign debt and personal debt versus time exists?
How much of the exponential rise in GDP per capita is based on imaginary wealth as opposed to real wealth? I suspect if imaginary wealth (based on debt) were excluded from the GDP input, the result (while by no means opposite to that shown in the plots) may be somewhat less spectacular.
…So it would seem I can ‘come out’ and admit to being a steam train spotter on this forum and not be asked disparagingly when I last washed my anorak? I like WUWT more and more each day!
I have no idea what you mean by “imaginary wealth”.
Do you mean the value of information itself, IE since it has no physical form?
As to debt, people and companies have been taking on debt in order to buy productive assets since time immemorial. Nothing wrong with that.
As one wise man said, No one wants pieces of green paper with pictures of dead notables on them. What we want is what we can trade those bits of paper for. “Real” wealth is food, shelter, clothing, tools. “Imaginary” wealth is what won’t do you a bit of good if you washed up on a desert island with a crate of it. “Imaginary” wealth only works as wealth when we are playing with people who agree that it “counts”.
“mellyrn February 23, 2016 at 11:57 am”
Stock market?
What a remarkable site is WUWT. I learn something new every time I check in.
Mods, please could you let us know which other books you consider to be essential reading?
Say just 6 to start.
I’m not disputing the wealth that energy has brought, but I would like to see a similar comparison done without using “dollars”.
Right now, one ounce of gold (for example) will buy one high-quality men’s suit. 2000 years ago, one ounce of gold would buy one high-quality toga. On the other hand, $50 today will buy a dinner that $1 would have bought a mere century ago.
I don’t advocate gold for money; I’m just interested in a constant measure.
And, using the ‘Big Mac’ index, what do you think the equivalent in Roman times might have been?
“larks tongues, wrens livers, wolfs nipples, otters noses, chaffinch brains & Tuscany fried bats.only half a dinar
Yet a Barna Group survey released this past April found that most Americans remain unaware of these economic gains: “more than eight in 10 Americans (84%) are unaware global poverty has reduced so drastically. More than two-thirds (67%) say they thought global poverty was on the rise over the past three decades.”
A true testament to the success of water mellon propaganda over the last couple of decades. It would be very interesting to see a similar survey of the current under 16’s. I could guarantee the results, I suspect.
“We are using up everything at an un-sustainable rate”.
That nothing other than TOA atoms dislodged by The Sun and those Atoms that make up space exploration vehicles have ever taken anything off Planet will never enter their ‘teachers’ minds. Phosphorus scare, peak Oil scare, over population scare, beached Dolphin scare (they live forever), dead Polar Bear scare (they normally live forever too BTW).
Pay peanuts… you attract Monkeys.
The fossil-fuel driven Industrial Revolution and Capitalism are the two most important historical developments in human history that have rapidly lifted billions out of abject poverty and lead to all the incredible technological and societal innovations we now enjoy.
It’s incredible that both fossil fuels and Capitalism are now under assault.
It’s unfortunate that advances in philosophy have not kept pace with technological advancements in terms of the adaptation of the non-aggression principle and the non-initiation of force, which are the two philosophical cornerstones of free-market economies and limited government Republics. (aka Capitalism)…
The worldwide sovereign debt crisis (which now exceeds $100 trillion), run up by oppressive and gigantic governments around the world, combined with failed fiat currencies, will likely lead to largest economic collapse in human history within the next 5~10 years.
Perhaps in the aftermath of the coming collapse, citizens will realize that large and oppressive centralized governments should be replaced by tiny decentalized government’s based on the non-initiation of force and non-aggression principles, and that the sole purpose of any government is simply to protect an INDIVIDUAL’s natural rights (not collective) of: life, liberty from government oppression, and private property.
I believe it is important to put our politicians on notice regarding their green energy scams.
I suggest that knowingly advocating these costly and ineffective green-energy schemes in Alberta constitutes Negligence or Misfeasance in a Public Office – the foisting of harmful green-energy nonsense on our society.
Following are two letters I recently wrote to our new socialist Premier of Alberta, who want s to retire our coal-fired power plants and replace them with intermittent and unreliable wind and solar power.
Sent: January-26-16 9:05 AM
Subject: An Open Letter to Alberta Premier Rachel Notley
Please see the attached article from The Sun newspaper in the United Kingdom:
“Energy bills will soar as green policies shut coal-fired power stations and cause an “electricity supply crisis”, experts say. Prices will be forced up as the UK has to import more power, according to a report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers today. –Craig Woodhouse, The Sun, 26 January 2016”.
Congratulations to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME) for their conclusions – the IME is correct.
We predicted this severe green-energy shortfall more than a decade ago, in our 2002 written debate with the Pembina Institute. We wrote in 2002:
(until recently posted on the APEGA website, now at) http://www.friendsofscience.org/assets/documents/KyotoAPEGA2002REV1.pdf
“The ultimate agenda of pro-Kyoto advocates is to eliminate fossil fuels, but this would result in a catastrophic shortfall in global energy supply – the wasteful, inefficient energy solutions proposed by Kyoto advocates simply cannot replace fossil fuels.”
I also advised the UK’s Stern Commission in 2005 that the UK’s approach to green energy was ill-founded and would greatly increase energy costs, with no benefit to the environment.
Note also the article below from Bloomberg that describes the problems of green-energy schemes destabilizing the electrical grid in Germany.
We have known about these German electrical grid problems for more than a decade. See the E.ON Netz Wind Report 2005:
http://www.wind-watch.org/documents/wp-content/uploads/eonwindreport2005.pdf
(apparently no longer available from E.ON Netz website).
Figure 6 says Wind Power is too intermittent (and needs almost 100% spinning backup);
Figure 7 says it just gets worse and worse the more Wind Power you add to the grid (see Substitution Capacity dropping from 8% to 4%).
I suggest our concerns about green-energy shortfalls written in 2002 are now proven correct.
Governments in Europe that adopted green-energy schemes such as wind and solar power are finding these schemes are not green and produce little useful energy. Their energy costs are soaring, energy shortages are looming, and these governments are in retreat, dropping their huge green energy subsidies as fast as they politically can.
I suggest that knowingly advocating these costly and ineffective green-energy schemes in Alberta constitutes Negligence or Misfeasance in a Public Office – the foisting of harmful green-energy nonsense on our society.
Whether these foolish green-energy policies constitute incompetence or deliberate fraud is immaterial – these green-energy policies are destructive to our society and should cease now.
Yours truly, Allan MacRae
Calgary AB
References:
Energy bills will soar as green policies shut coal-fired power stations and cause an “electricity supply crisis”, experts say. Prices will be forced up as the UK has to import more power, according to a report by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers today.
— Craig Woodhouse, The Sun, 26 January 2016
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/politics/6886706/Britain-to-face-higher-bills-due-to-green-policies.html
Senior lawmakers from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling bloc (CDU/CSU) called for limits on subsidies for renewable energy in Germany as output expanded faster than the electricity grid can absorb the additional flows. Progress in building a new grid “Autobahn” to take wind and solar power from northern Germany to factories in the south is slow, according to the letter, which was obtained by Bloomberg News. Germany faces “massive network problems,” it said. “Gigawatt targets can’t be chiseled in stone.” Steps taken in 2015 to maintain grid stability cost power consumers more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), said the lawmakers.
— Brian Parkin, Bloomberg, 22 January 2016
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-22/merkel-allies-call-for-renewable-curbs-as-wind-overwhelms-grid
___________________________
Sent: November-24-15 1:52 AM
Subject: HIGHER ENERGY COSTS INCREASE WINTER MORTALITY RATES
An Open Letter to Rachel Notley
Socialists Justin Trudeau and Rachel Notley were recently elected in Ottawa and Edmonton (Alberta), both by voters who wanted “change”, Now we have the same warmist lunatic ravings in Ottawa and Edmonton and our economy is headed into the dumpster,
Here is what “change” will look like:
1. A major increase in energy costs, due to their move to “green energy” schemes, which are typically not green and produce little useful energy.
2. Huge increases in government debt to subsidize their intermittent and diffuse green energy schemes.
3. Huge payoffs of taxpayer monies to their financial sponsors, who will build these green energy monstrosities.
4. Huge increases in energy costs to consumers, who will be forced to buy this intermittent and unreliable green energy at greatly increased prices..
5. An increase in joblessness as industry relocates to lower-cost energy venues.
6. An increase in Winter Mortality Rates, particularly among the elderly and the poor, due to the greatly increased cost of home heating.
These dire results have already been widely experienced in Europe, Europeans rulers set out on this extremely foolish and destructive course years ago, and are now retreating as fast as they can, only limited by the speed that their politicians can admit they were utterly wrong about energy policy.
It is truly remarkable that young Justin and Rachel cannot even learn from the obvious blunders of the Europeans, but have to go and make the same incredibly foolish errors again, all by themselves.
When someone acts in such an obviously stupid manner, one has to ask the question – are they really that stupid, or are they simply corrupt? Is warmist nonsense just a scam to steal from the public, much like the many socialist scams we see in the developing world, where rulers get elected by promising the dream of a better life, and then proceed to live in luxury while their citizens continue to suffer in poverty?
Allan MacRae
Calgary Alberta
References:
1. The UN’s IPCC Has No Credibility On Global Warming September 6, 2015
by Allan MacRae
https://friendsofsciencecalgary.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/the-uns-ipcc-has-no-credibility-on-global-warming-6sept2015-final.pdf
2. Cold Weather Kills 20 Times as Many People as Hot Weather September 4, 2015
by Joseph D’Aleo and Allan MacRae
https://friendsofsciencecalgary.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/cold-weather-kills-macrae-daleo-4sept2015-final.pdf
Something else has also puzzled me: now that we have so much more energy available than we did 400, 200, even 100 years ago — how come they spent some of what little energy they had on making a common object, like a storm-drain grate or a lamppost, decorative as well as functional, while our stuff all looks as though we can barely afford to make the object at all, that we have nothing to spare for anything but bare essentials? Why does their stuff look rich, as if they had all the time (and energy) in the world, and ours looks impoverished in both time and energy?
Probably because a worker’s time cost nothing! If the ‘squire’ didn’t have him (always a him) making that thing, he’d have him make something else. It wasn’t until the late 1700’s that a skilled worker was appreciated and rewarded.
IT’S NOT GREEN ENERGY, IT’S RED ENERGY
A colleague and I were discussing the major defects of current renewable energy schemes, such as grid-connected wind and solar power. Because the wind does not blow and the sun does nor shine 24/7, the renewable power that is produced is intermittent, and intermittent power is often of little or no value to the electrical grid.
In Alberta wind power producers are reportedly paid 20 cents per KWh and are paid that 20 cents 24/7, whether that power is needed or not. In comparison our reliable coal-fired or natural-gas-fired or hydro power costs about 4 or 5 cents per KWh.
When that wind power is excess to our grid demand, we can either cut back on dispatchable power – typically gas-fired or hydro power, OR we can dump that excess wind power to neighbouring state power systems for a pittance – as little as 0 to 2 cents per KWh.
So we pay 20 cents for wind power that we have to dump for next-to-nothing.
Because of intermittency and other major defects, these so-called green energy schemes are not green and produce little useful energy. My friend remarked, “These green energy scams should stop now – IT’S NOT GREEN ENERGY, IT’S RED ENERGY!”.
Intermittency is a major Renewable Energy Defect, so RED ENERGY it is!
Postscript:
Not all Green Energy is RED Energy – there are some new energy systems that make sense, but current grid-connected wind and solar schemes seldom do. A key test is to remove all forced subsidies and see if the green energy scheme survives. Most (or all) grid-connected wind and solar power generation schemes would soon be bankrupt.
Post Postscript:
Cheap, abundant, reliable energy is the lifeblood of modern society. When misinformed politicians fool with energy systems, real people suffer and die. That is the tragic legacy of false global warming alarmism.
Moderator – from GWPF today – this may be worthy of its own article on WattsUp.:
4) MIT Study: Green Energy Can’t Work Unless You Tax Everything
The Daily Caller, 25 February 2016
http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/25/mit-green-energy-cant-work-unless-you-tax-everything/
Andrew Follett
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have confirmed what many in the energy world already knew: Without government support or high taxes, green energy will never be able to compete with conventional, more reliable power plants.
MIT News Release at: http://news.mit.edu/2016/carbon-tax-stop-using-fossil-fuels-0224`
This reminds me of our published article from 2002:
“The ultimate agenda of pro-Kyoto advocates is to eliminate fossil fuels, but this would result in a catastrophic shortfall in global energy supply – the wasteful, inefficient energy solutions proposed by Kyoto advocates simply cannot replace fossil fuels.”