May 1st, 2019 (words in blue will link to further in-depth blog posts)

Blog Post #2, Where does energy come from? by Tomas Gottfried

Where does energy come from? In human consumption terms, we can say that all energy comes from
two sources: the sun, and the interior of the earth. Geothermal and nuclear come from the interior of
the earth. All other forms of energy used on earth come from the sun. The most direct form of use for
this solar energy is enabled by solar-thermal and photovoltaic technologies, which use the run’s rays to
develop useful forms of energy. Hydro and wind-power energy follow in relation to their solar source,
since heat from the sun creates and moves the weather required to power these devices. The most
indirect form of solar energy is also the most widely used: fossil fuels, which despite first impressions
also constitute solar energy, which is stored in chemical form.

Planet Earth receives about 173,000 terra-watts (TW) of constant solar radiation. In comparison, all
humanity has an average constant demand of about 19 TW i (18 TW of primary energy, and 1 TW in food
caloriesii). Of the 173,000 TW that approach earth, 35% is reflected back without entering the
atmosphere. Almost all the rest of it is absorbed by the air, the oceans and the land, where light is
converted to heat. This heat is what powers all atmospheric flows and marine currents, all weather and
seasons. All this heat is eventually radiated back into space, and is constantly renovated by the sun at
the same rate at which it is lost. This balance between the energy that enters Earth and the energy that
leaves it is what keeps a constant temperature on our planet.

There is a very small percentage of solar energy that goes through various other stages before been
released back into space. These stages are dictated by life in what is called the carbon cycle, since the
sun is practically the only source of energy for life on earth. The carbon cycle begins with plants’
photosynthesis extracting carbon-dioxide (CO2) from air to produce carbohydrates. This energy allows
the plants to grow, and those plants in turn become the energy source for other forms of life when
eaten. Those forms of life further consume the carbohydrates’ energy in heat and motion. Eventually
those forms of life die and are decomposed allowing the carbon to return to the atmosphere as CO2 and
the remaining energy to return to space as heat.

However, millions of years ago there has a huge exception to the natural and constant rhythm of the
carbon cycle. Back then, the climate on earth was notoriously warmer. There was abundant and
complex life in the oceans, some of which are still with us today like the wonderful Limulus species. Still,
this was way before any dinosaurs existed. The first vertebrates were venturing out of the sea to walk
the earth, which was already home to countless insects. Plants had covered all the landmass, but trees
did not exist yet. No plants were over a few feet high, because they lacked the structural strength
required to reach up high. However, the epoch was marked when a mutation caused plants to produce
specific polymers that could develop into strong fibers iii. Soon after, the earth was covered with jungles
and forests of towering trees.

What was strange though, was that 360 million years ago these new polymers were particularly resistant
to decomposition, specially back then when there were no fungi or bacteria specialized in consuming
themiv. When they died, those first trees did not decompose thanks to the recalcitrant polymers,
swampy conditions and warm climate. Instead, they remained fallen on the ground and swamps, pilling
on top of one another until the centuries buried them. We call this geologic period the Carboniferous.
When performing photosynthesis, plants capture carbon out of the air and release oxygen into it. Later,
this oxygen is consumed by aerobic organisms that consume carbohydrates, releasing the carbon back
into the atmosphere. Yet during the Carboniferous, as carbon was stored underground, a surplus of
oxygen was produced. This changed the composition of the atmosphere, which reached up to 35%
oxygen (compared to our current 21%)v. The abundance of oxygen allowed insects and amphibians,
whose size is limited by their ability to breathe, to become enormous: dragonflies with 3-foot wingspan,
9-foot-long millipedes, 3-foot-long scorpions, among others. As oxygen accumulated in the air, carbon
was been stored in wood that was buried and eventually fossilized, forming almost all known coal
deposits.

The extraction of carbon from air and its storage in the ground resulted in a reduction of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect that this gas provides was also reduced, causing a drop in
global temperatures. The polar ice-caps grew and reflected more sunlight than normal, causing a further
reduction in temperature. This feedback loop resulted in a pronounced global glaciation event. The
planet only took a few centuries to cool to this degree, and this abrupt climate change caused a massive
extinction event. The climate became cold and dry, turning entire jungles and forests into deserts, and
drying out swamps and shallow seasvi.

The carbohydrate chains created by photosynthesis millions of years ago were never decomposed, and
therefore their chemical energy was never released. It is no coincidence that eventually someone would
want to make use of those large reservoirs of energy. Humans have long mined and burned coal for
heat. However, it was until the late eighteenth century that coal consumption shot up, when the
modern steam engine was developed, which burns coal to deliver force and movement. It was this kind
of invention that allowed the use of fossil fuels to be burned to power the Industrial Revolution and
clear the path for the modern world. As demand grew, ever-better methods of extracting coal, oil and
gas were developed, which further enabled their use to fuel the energy demanded to produce and
transport the millions of products and services we consume today.

In every ton of coal there is approximately 8 Mega Watt-hours of stored energy. If this coal is burned in
an efficient manner, only 32% are usable, or 2.3 MWh per ton. In every ton of crude oil there is 3.9
MWh, considering an energetic efficiency similar to carbon; and 5.8 MW in natural gas with 42%
efficiencyvii.

Actually, more than 423,000,000 MWh are consumed per day worldwide viii, of which 87% come from
fossil fuels, with coal (28%) and gas (24%) mainly used for heat and electricity, and petroleum (35%)
mainly for transport and industry. The other 13% is composed of wood, or biomass (7.1%), hydro-
electric (2.6%), nuclear (1.7%), wind-power (0.7%), solar (0.3%) and other renewables (0.4%) which
include modern biomass, geothermal and ocean-power.

Despite having started industrial consumption in the eighteenth century, it is important to note that of
the 1.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted by burning fossil fuels since then ix, more than 90% have
been emitted in the last 50 yearsx. Today, our atmosphere has reached 415 ppm xi compared with the
natural range of 120-280 which has prevailed for millions of years xii. Never before in history has such a
drastic change in the composition of our atmosphere ever occurred. 305 million years ago, it took
several centuries of cooling to produce a massive extinction event. Today we are causing an equal
amount of heating in a few decades’ timeframe, and another massive extinction event is already been
heralded whose effects on human life are only beginning.
However, we can still avoid the worst of the negative effects that could arise from global climate change.
The fact that 90% of emissions originated in the last 50 years also empowers us to realize that we could
revert the trend in an equal amount of time or less. To achieve this the task is simple: move away from
fossil fuels until they are no longer required. These will need to be replaced by renewable energies,
which are already economically viable, as well as newer technologies which require current and ongoing
investment in research and development. The electric grid will also require a refurbishment, with more
transmission, and much more energy-storage in hydro-electric dams, pumped storage and battery
banks. Further research and development of safe nuclear energy could also be considered, since nuclear
would probably play an important role during a fast transition to zero carbon energy. Despite the
perceived high initial cost, all of these would be good long-term investments.

In the meantime, we can also reduce our consumption by increasing efficiency. Despite recent efficiency
gains, energy consumption per person continues to increase and is already over 8 times larger than
preindustrial consumptionxiii. However, there are still many more efficiency gains to be made in all
segments of the economy. Because everything that we consume and everything we do involves a certain
consumption of energy, increasing our energy efficiency would equate reduced consumption.

Increasing efficiency would reduce carbon emissions without giving up on actual products or services,
which is another, much more dreary option. It is difficult to imagine going back to preindustrial levels of
consumption, when one could count the number of garments one owned in their entire life, when the
concept of disposable or single-use did not exist, when it was rare to travel beyond a few miles from
home, when there was no electricity or running water, when heat and cold were indomitable, and when
world population did not exceed one billion (today we are 7.7 billion). However, it is possible to imagine
a world where abundance is achieved by better means. The technology for a zero-carbon world is ready
and continues to improve. All that is required is the will to make the transformation. It is much harder to
imagine a prosperous future while we continue to destroy the source of all material wealth: the
environment in which we live. The value we assign to the environment and the natural world, and how
we decide to manage it, will define our future.
i
https://ourworldindata.org/energy-production-and-changing-energy-sources
ii
https://ourworldindata.org/food-per-person
iii
https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03327.x
iv
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mushroom-evolution-breaks-down-lignin-slows-coal-formation/
v
https://archive.fo/20130103013012/http://www.highbeam.com/library/docfree.asp?
DOCID=1G1:16907261&ctrlInfo=Round20:Mode20b:DocG:Result&ao=
vi
https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/carboniferous/carboniferous.php
vii
https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_08_01.html
https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_07_03.html
viii
International Energy Agency https://webstore.iea.org/download/direct/2291?fileName=Key_World_2018.pdf
ix
https://www.co2.earth/global-co2-emissions
x
https://ourworldindata.org/fossil-fuels
xi
http://time.com/5588794/carbon-dioxide-earth-climate-change/
xii
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide
xiii
Christian, Maps of Time, p.141