A new report finds 24 states have yet to establish an “energy efficiency resource standard," which has been shown to curb demand, lower costs and reduce emissions.
A new report finds 24 states have yet to establish an “energy efficiency resource standard," which has been shown to curb demand, lower costs and reduce emissions.
Nonsense. Some things have become more efficient - like swapping 60W incandescent bulbs for 9W LEDs.
Civilization isn’t dying 🤣
Efficiency is great, but should make energy cheaper, leading to more usage. Again especially with a growing population. Dropping energy usage means costs increased despite efficiency, or they decreased and there was no productive capacity to put that energy to use. Either way it’s bad for the country.
Efficiency should not lead to more usage but to often it does. The example above shows that at a time we should have seen massive dips in usage as you say it just sorta leveled off which would indicate quite and increase in use. Lighting after all is one of the bigger eletric usages. Or I know it was in the time of filament bulbs.
Efficiency lowers demand, which lowers prices, which should create opportunity for expansion and higher demand. Except prices have been rising, profits have been rising, and real energy investment has been flat. And you can see it across the entire western economy, not just the US. It’s great that we’ve been moving to clean energy, the problem is that we’re doing less over all as a civilization.
Think of it this way, fusion power is about to be an actual thing, making cheap clean energy on tap for the planet. And we’re just going to sit and watch it glow, because no one can figure out what to do with limitless energy.
oh man. firstly using energy for energy usage sake is again a pattern but its generally due to waste and human nature. Laziness and indulgence. Secondly fusion is not about to be an actual thing. Thirdly when fusion becomes an actual thing it is not limitless energy. There are a whole bunch of limitations around the technology the will have cost. Very much the way fission was not limitless energy and its not because fissionable material is scarce its due to all the associated costs around fission. Even block hole energy won’t be free limitless energy.
Ok, try aluminum. Used to be super rare, rarely used. Now you can’t throw a cat without hitting some. Production efficiency went through the roof, price dropped like a rock, and suddenly there’s aluminum things everywhere. Efficiency created far greater demand due to the drop in cost. Energy is even more useful than aluminum, it literally makes aluminum. And yet, we’re using less, as we get more efficient at making it.
aluminum replaces other materials in its use. energy is its own thing. using more aluminum for no real reason would not be good but we replaced things we made with other materials with aluminum once it was common but we don’t use it for things aluminum would not be a better material to use it for.
Energy is a base commodity, no different than aluminum, plywood, orange juice, oil or eggs. All of which increase as the population, thus demand and production, increase. And aluminum is used in a lot of structural applications where other materials would be far superior, but aluminum is a hell of a lot more affordable. It’s not that it’s the best material, it’s the best material at that price, due to cheap efficient production.
Exactly. Its a fungible item that can replace or be replaced by other things which energy is not. And your right that increased population will increase demand but we don’t want to be increasing demand of anything as all the fungible commodities while being fungible are not inexhaustable.
What’s this, a voice with common sense I hear? Incredible. Upvoting before the mass downvotes arrive
Leave that argument back in the 1970s where it belongs.