Coasts in Crisis by Gary Griggs

Author:Gary Griggs
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780520293618
Publisher: University of California Press

FIGURE 9.1. Per capita use of energy varies widely by country. (Courtesy Burn and Energy Journal. Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Agency, CIA World Factbook, U.N. Dept. of Economics and Social Affairs)

Looking at total energy consumption (population multiplied by per capita use), China now uses about 36 percent more energy than the United States because the population of China is 4.3 times larger. After China and the United States, the next highest consumers of total energy in order are India, Russia, Japan, Germany, Brazil, South Korea, Canada, and France.

Where is all of this energy coming from? On a global scale, as of 2014, as precisely as it is possible to determine, oil provided 32.2 percent of all energy used; coal, 30.0 percent; natural gas, 23.3 percent; and nuclear, 4.4 percent; all renewables generated the remaining 10.1 percent (figures 9.2 and 9.3a). Use of all fossil fuels continues to increase, while nuclear power is declining. The renewables were led by hydroelectric power at 6.7 percent, followed by wind (1.1 percent), biofuels (0.5 percent), solar (0.2 percent), and others (0.9 percent). The importance of renewables is increasing, although still at a relatively modest rate. We are still dependent on fossil fuels, which are nonrenewable, for 85 percent of all our energy needs. This is neither a sustainable nor a good long-term strategy, because the resources are clearly finite and their use causes well-recognized environmental impacts. Our total global energy consumption in 2014 was equivalent (BOE) to 92.8 billion barrels of oil, or 254 million barrels every day.

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