$45 Trillion - the number of U.S. Dollars recommended by the International Energy Agency that will be required to decarbonize the world's energy systems over the next fifty years.
It seems like yet another number to scare the world away from actually doing anything worthwhile and to keep corporations and governments bickering over who should be responsible for CO2 emissions. (The U.S.! No, China! NO, EVERYONE! )
While the IEA has good intentions in trying to put this very large undertaking into perspective, it probably does more to scare people than actually get them to realize that the time to start is now, and with the cost of petroleum at record highs there is the continuous impulsiveness in the U.S. that we can still "drill our problems away" and pursue backwards "solutions" such as coal liquefaction to keep the 20% efficient, dirty internal combustion engines rolling. On the other hand, I have seen much hope and intelligent thinking in the past few weeks - more carpooling, people trading in SUVs for compact and subcompact cars, cutting back on unnecessary trips, and even more hybrid vehicles on the road. These high prices are just the slap in the face that Americans have needed for years - we are finally beginning to think about our consumption and the fact that one-twentieth of the world's population guzzles one-quarter of the world's oil.
According to this article on IHT, they [the IEA] also seem to believe that the only way we can do this is with the same technologies that we rely on today - big nuclear power stations and coal units (with carbon sequestration). I strongly disagree, and feel that the decarbonization and sustainability of our society will be based upon smaller-scale, distributed systems rather than massive "Big Energy"-operated grids continuing the be fueled by non-renewable resources. One fairly sad fact about those "big" traditional options is that they waste two-thirds of the energy that is put into them. What is the point of a big, expensive carbon sequestration project when you are throwing away most of the energy generated to begin with?
How much money did it take to build the energy infrastructure that we already have in place today? I'm sure no one has counted that...
Nor does anyone sit around and try to figure their return on investment before going out and buying an iPod. We are more than willing to spend our money on "consumer goods", but when it comes time to create a better energy system to ensure a world which is cleaner, more livable, and that adequate energy supplies are available to meet our basic needs - the bickering begins! Everyone wants it/knows that we need it, no one wants to pay for it. With the price of fossil fuels, however, renewables are becoming a better deal every single day!
