For those who prefer to listen to the article, a volunteer has also recorded an audio version
Energy Returned on Investment
The first concept to understand is Energy Returned on Investment (EROI). EROI is a measure of how much energy your device (power plant, solar panel, wind turbine) produces relative to the energy required to construct the device. A similar ratio would be how much money is invested relative to how much money the investment returns over time - or how many hours are required to create a tool relative to how many hours that tool saves over time.
The highest EROI is nuclear power at around 75. Hydro-electric comes in second place at around 49. The lowest EROI is photo-voltaic solar (PV-solar) at 4.
The EROI alone does not account for ‘buffering.’ Solar panels only work when the there is sunlight which precludes night time and inclement weather. Wind turbines only work when the wind blows.
Nuclear is just as effective 24/7, day and night, rain or shine. Hydro-electric has a slightly lower buffered EROI due to reduced volume of the water reservoir during droughts.
Three Phases of Energy
Energy should be thought of in three distinct phases. Driving your car, running the machines that make our stuff and heating your house are the end stage of Usage (phase 3)
Prior to energy being used to better our lives, it must first be Produced (phase 1) and Stored (phase 2).
Oil, gas and coal: The molecular structure of carbon and hydrogen chains is the energy storage. The energy has already been produced in millennia past and stored within the molecule.
Nuclear power: The atoms are the energy storage, again the energy has already been produced in millennia past.
Hydro-electric: The volume of water in the reservoir at elevation above the outlet is the energy storage, the rainfall accumulating in the reservoir is the energy production.
Obviously, solar and wind must first produce the energy and then store the energy for later use. This requires the fabrication of the solar panels and wind turbines - and batteries - just to get to the same point where fossil fuels, nuclear and hydro-electric start.
Energy is Wealth and Influence
There is no such thing as a low energy rich nation. Energy use underlies the entire economy. There is a direct correlation between energy production and use and the wealth of a nation. This was true even in centuries past when energy came from burning wood and coal.
All the technology and machines running on that technology are useless without sufficient energy. Our ability to fund a global military presence depends on our ability to take care of material needs at home first, via the machines that plow the fields and mill the lumber. It’s the robust economy that gives value to US dollars, a fiat currency which is nothing more than IOU’s backed by trust in our economy (and threats from our military).
Germany Embraces Degrowth
Western nations embracing “Degrowth” and moving toward “Green Energy” are committing economic suicide. Germany, who shut off their last nuclear power plants in April 2023, is experiencing a sharp decline in economic output. This means increased poverty for German citizens. Though obviously, not all citizens will be affected equally. In typical fashion, the poorest will pay the heaviest burden as they have the least resources to reallocate to meet their basic needs.
As energy production shrinks, the economy shrinks and companies lay off workers. Those workers can afford fewer goods and services thus risking an economic spiral.
An economic spiral is the goal of “Degrowth.” WEF and UN, projecting Herbert Marcuse and the Club of Rome, promote reduced living standards. For everyone? No, of course not, only for the common people, not themselves. None of the leaders of this movement have given up their private jets or fillet mignon.
China
China is responsible for 56% of global coal usage, more than the rest of the world combined. And China is scaling up their mining, distribution and use of coal. As of 2021, China had 946 coal-fired power plants, USA was #2 at 286. China alone is responsible for 95% of new coal fired power plant construction.
Globally, China currently accounts for 33% of global (man-made) carbon dioxide emissions. USA is a distant #2 at 13%. India is #3 at 7%. As for the rest of the Western world: Germany is the first Western nation to make the list and contributes less than 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
The CCP understands the link between cheap energy production, economic growth and global military might.
So What Gives?
Agenda 2030 and the UN push for Degrowth applies to Western nations, the “Global North”, those nations outside of China’s sphere of influence. The BRICs and the “Global South” at large are given a free pass to pollute as much as they like, not just carbon dioxide, but plastics and garbage in the oceans.
Make no mistake, all world leaders, politicians and scientists, understand the link between energy production and the well-being of the citizenry. Our leaders aren’t stupid, they’re evil. They’ve been convinced to suicide their own nations and sacrifice their own people, globally, simultaneously.
The explicit stated goal is a One World Government, headed by the UN, funded by a global carbon tax, acting as a “global brain” of a global organism comprised of all living things on the planet. Any claims that this is a conspiracy theory can be readily debunked by reading what the UN and their partners publicly publish themselves.
To get the One World Government, the Chinese model – communist ideology infused with corporatist economic production – must be fused with the Western model – a highly productive economy but unequal distribution of goods. That is, the end goal is a merger of Chinese communism and Western corporatism. To create this merger, Western nations must be shrunk and consolidated under the control of UN while China is allowed to grow to a commensurate scale.
And now Agenda 2030, Degrowth, Climate Crisis, open borders and mass migration, vaccine mandates and Digital ID, a global push for CBDC, the WHO “Pandemic Treaty,” the UN “Pact for the Future” etc. should all make a lot more sense.
ResistCBDC writes and warns about pending digital surveillance and control. You can find more at X Resist_CBDC
What a bizarre conspiracy theory! WEF, UN etc do not embrace ‘Degrowth’. Quite the opposite.