ENB Pub Note: This is an article from America Out Loud by two Great energy leaders, Ronald Stein and Dr. Lars Schernikau. Both have been on the Energy News Beat Podcast and are highly recommended to follow.
Electricity demands are growing worldwide, and the unpopular questions around what it truly takes to power our modern society beyond just electricity are energy literacy conversations that provoke critical thought.
Conversation encourages young minds to challenge assumptions, ask difficult questions, and resist accepting simplistic answers to deeply complex challenges.
It is our responsibility as parents, educators, and leaders, not to hand children finished conclusions, but to help them build the confidence and discipline to think independently, question rigorously, and shape better outcomes than the generations before them.
Wind turbines and solar panels ONLY generate electricity, but CANNOT produce any of over 6,000 products or transportation fuels required to sustain life as we know it. Even the electricity they generate cannot be fed into the grid without “conditioning” to match the required frequency, current, voltage, and phase. They lack physical inertia and are “digital power” generators.
The world is not dependent on natural fossil fuels, as one does not use “raw” crude oil that is only black tar, BUT has become dependent on the products and transportation fuels PRODUCED FROM oil, coal, or gas, the same products and fuels that wind or solar CANNOT provide!
Transportation fuel demands continue to grow to support jet fuel for planes, bunker fuel for ships, diesel fuel for trucks, and gasoline fuel for cars. The fact that the products and transportation fuels MADE FROM crude oil sustain 10 times more people in the world today (over 8 billion) than at the start of the Industrial Revolution (approximately 700 to 800 million people in 1750) is often overlooked.
Discussing oil alone, consultants, educators, politicians, and also many industrial leaders too often CANNOT explain how the more than 350,000 wind turbines, and an estimated 3.5 to 5 billion individual solar panels in the world will produce the following transportation fuels:
- Bunker fuel, to support over 112,500 commercial and merchant ships globally (measuring at least 100 gross tons). Of this total, about 60,300 large, oceangoing vessels (over 1,000 gross tons) are dedicated to international cargo transport, including bulk carriers, oil tankers, and container ships.
- Jet fuel supports an estimated 30,000 commercial aircraft in the world. When including private/general aviation, military, and cargo planes, the total climbs to over 500,000 aircraft worldwide. Globally, nearly 100,000 commercial flights take off and land every single day. At any given moment, there are roughly 12,000 to 15,000 planes in the air across the globe
- Gasoline fuel: Worldwide gasoline consumption hovers around 25 to 27 million barrels per day (over 300 billion gallons annually). Driven heavily by passenger transportation and light-duty vehicles, this demand accounts for a massive chunk of global petroleum usage, with North America and Asia-Pacific leading the consumption charts
- Diesel fuel: Global diesel usage is approaching 400 billion gallons annually, accounting for roughly 32% of all liquid fuel consumption. Driven by the freight, agriculture, and construction sectors, it remains the primary energy source for over 60% of worldwide freight transport.
Today, the 8+ billion people on this planet enjoy more than 6,000 products in our daily materialistic lives that did not exist before the 1800s, and that are meeting the supply chain demands of today’s hospitals, airports, telecommunications, appliances, electronics, sanitation systems, heating and ventilating systems to support current lifestyles.
On the other hand, nuclear-generated power would lower costs and emissions, provide continuous and uninterrupted electricity, utilize the least amount of earth resources, and have the smallest requirement for land usage.
A lesser considered fact is that electricity came AFTER oil and coal, as ALL electrical generation methods from hydro, coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind, and solar are ALL built with the products, components, and equipment that are made from oil, coal, and gas derivatives.
- Without crude oil, coal, or gas, there still can be no electricity because the electricity-generating machines could not exist!
- Electricity can charge an iPhone, but neither wind turbines nor solar panels can PRODUCE an iPhone,
Because the next generation is inheriting an exciting world facing enormous decisions, not just about energy, but about prosperity, inequality, technology, sustainability, and societal and political stability:
- They need more than just slogans
- They need critical thinking skills
- They need intellectual courage and support
- And above all, they should expect better answers than “because that is what everyone says.”
If a conversation about energy literacy can spark a student to ask:
- What evidence supports this?
- What are the trade-offs?
- Who benefits and who pays?
- What are we not being told?
- Is there an alternative solution delivering better results?
Then, the discussions and conversations about energy literacy have achieved far more than just sharing information.
Please share this information with teachers, students, and friends to encourage Energy Literacy conversations at the family dinner table.
Click this Link to Sign up for Energy Literacy from Ronald Stein.
