Per capita energy consumption.

[Dr Mordrid]

You want water? The Great Lakes States and Ontario etc. have WATER:

Lake Superior: 3,000 cubic miles; 350x160 miles. 1,332 feet deep. It can have conditions approaching the N. Atlantic
Lake Michigan: 1,180 cubic; 118x307 miles. 925 feet deep
Lake Huron: 850 cubic miles; 183x206 miles. 750 feet deep
Lake Onario: 395 cubic miles; 19x53 miles. 283 feet deep
Lake Erie: 119 cubic miles of water; 241x57 miles. 210 feet deep
Lake St. Clair: 26x24 miles. 30 feet deep (not a Great Lake; part of the Lake Erie basin)

All told about 5,544 cu/miles (23,108 cu/km) of water.

Not counting Lake St. Clair, zillions of small inland lakes, rivers and estuaries.

We're up to our a$$es in water

[Brian Ellis]

Yup, do you know what percentage of the fresh water on the planet those 5½ kmi3 represent? Almost bugger all! All the lakes and rivers on earth together contain only 0.33% of the fresh water. About 75% is locked in ice sheets and glaciers (going down!), 0.035% in the atmosphere and the rest is in ground water.

My source: a database quoting US DoE, WB, IEA and CIA sources, set up by the IAEA and available at http://www.iaea.org/inis/aws/eedrb/index.html, covering just about all countries.

At the moment, my data is in a single Excel worksheet, which I copied to doc format. I'm working on it to produce some sub-worksheets which will be closer to publishable form on my web site. I was quite surprised by this data and thought it was worthy of publishing in its primitive form.

[KvHagedorn]

Anyone notice the similarities in countries numbers 1,2, and 3? (Besides all starting out as British colonies )

High standard of living and a very large land area with a spread-out population.

Would I want to live in a crowded area and be very poor, like India? No. And once Indians and Chinese get a taste for air conditioning, imagine how the real total (not just per capita, because we are talking about the standard of living for 2 billion people going up at once) world energy consumption will rise!

[Brian Ellis]

I presume you mean ranks 19, 20 and 21, as 1, 2 and 3 are also large countries with a low density population, but only 1 was a Brit colony, and they have a low standard of living. I don't think what you say is relevant because other highly developed countries and other large countries with a low population density, don't follow the trend. Take #10 and #15, for example. I can see no real correlation with energy consumption against either geographical area or population density, at sight, without having done a statistical analysis.

[KvHagedorn]

Yes, I meant 19,20, and 21.

Russia still has a relatively low standard of living, though.. and hardly the need for air conditioning that 19,20, and 21 have. Its eastern territories are pretty much lined up in a straight line connected by rail, too. Switzerland is tiny, but are you saying they use more energy than normal? Simple. They're rich.

[VJ]

This was in the news here: Belgium scores quite bad on it...
Dunno why though (country is very small, but densily populated), but the government has upped its awareness campaigns to urge people to use less electricity.

Some statistics about Belgium:
Area
- Total 30,528 km² (11,787 sq mi)
- Water (%) 6.4
Population
- 2005 est. 10,419,000
- Density 342/km² (886/sq mi)


Jörg

[KvHagedorn]

Air conditioning uses more electricity than anything else if you have it. Someone who actually lived in Texas and did not have AC (he was an old crackpot, naturally) told me his electricity bill was $41 that month. Most normal houses are $250-$500 per month for electricity. It's not just SUVs or whatever.

And face it.. NONE of us would live the lifestyle of the average Indian unless forced to do so. Forget your computer, forget any sort of personal vehicle except a bike, forget air conditioning or heating (in northern Europe, you'd die in winter). So really, these comparisons are all wrapped up in culture and regional considerations, but also reflect wealth. Once Indians get a taste for air conditioning, hoo boy.. it's all over. The worldwide energy pool will be sucked dry.

[az]

Most normal houses are $250-$500 per month for electricity.

WHAT!? My friends are all WELL below 100 EUR per month, less than half of that actually. Of course we have no aircon, and some heat with gas.

[gt40]

That's seems a litle high.
When is the next crop due??

[Dr Mordrid]

Our utilities;

Electric:

Summer A/C running; ~$140/month (this summer = 2 weeks hot enough for A/C)
Summer without A/C; ~$80/month

Winter; ~$100/month (furnace fan)

Gas:

Summer; $22/month (hot water & cooking)
Winter; $125-140/month (heat, hot water & cooking)

Our furnace is a 96% efficient unit and everything uses electronic igniters instead of pilots. We're considering a Bosch or Rheem tankless hot water heater to replace the 60 gallon tank because of their savings. The $300 Federal income tax credit will pay for about 40% of the cost.

[KvHagedorn]

In Texas, life without air conditioning is pretty miserable from March through October.

[dZeus]

This was in the news here: Belgium scores quite bad on it...
Dunno why though (country is very small, but densily populated), but the government has upped its awareness campaigns to urge people to use less electricity.

Some statistics about Belgium:
Area
- Total 30,528 km² (11,787 sq mi)
- Water (%) 6.4
Population
- 2005 est. 10,419,000
- Density 342/km² (886/sq mi)


Jörg

for starters, your government might fill up all the holes in the motorways. You won't need all those light poles on the motorways when done.

Or keep the holes, light poles and use LED lights

[Dr Mordrid]

In Texas, life without air conditioning is pretty miserable from March through October.

In dryer parts of Texas can't you use swamp coolers? No help in Houston & the Gulf Coast, but I'd think the dry portions could use 'em.

[KvHagedorn]

Where I live (in the middle) it's still very humid. I have no idea about west Texas..

[VJ]

for starters, your government might fill up all the holes in the motorways. You won't need all those light poles on the motorways when done.

Or keep the holes, light poles and use LED lights

Hehe...
Actually, I don't think the street-lighting are the biggest issue: most electricity in Belgium comes from nucleair power. As it is impossible to adjust the output of them on such a fast basis (more during the day, less during the night), there would be a surplus of energy at night (I do believe the street lights on the highways go out at 3 AM though ).
Most of the CO2 emissions probabely come from the traffic, not from the way electricity is generated (but this is my personal feeling on the situation). On the plus side, more energy is being generated using wind and solar power; but IMHO this will have a relatively small impact on CO2.


Jörg