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Frequently Asked Questions -
Energy
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In the perspective of human development, when an average person
consumes more than 4000kwh of electricity annually, the quality of
life doesn't increase much more.
However, we use more than just electricity for our energy needs.
In terms of energy, it is about 200,000 MJ (In 1999, our world's average per capita consumption is 68,000 MJ).
If the world's population levels off to 8 billion in this century, and
everybody assumes a good quality of life, our world's annual energy
need would be 1.6x1015 MJ (1,500 quads).
In 1999, we used about 387 quads.
Relying on fossil fuels is not going to get us to the future.
We need to exploit renewable energies extensively and continue to find more efficient means to use energy.
Note:
United Nations calculates a measure called Human Development Index
(HDI) to estimate quality of life. It's a figure ranges between 0 and
1. A HDI of 0.9 is used in the scenario above.
Canada's per capita annual electricity consumption was 14,315 kwh in 1999 (HDI=0.936).
1kWh = 3.6 MJ for more about energy conversions, please see the energy units' FAQ.
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