03/30/2004: 
Arcanum
California Announces First Energy Crisis of the Year
Is California showing us the first signs of an approaching "Dark Age?"
from Reuters at ATSNN
California has just declared its first power emergency of the year as temperatures begin to hover in the low 90's. The 5th largest economy in the world has not completely recovered from the last crisis. One day in the 90's and already California is in trouble? You guys are so screwed. Good Luck crazywriterinla.
California has just stepped one foot closer to the Olduvai Gorge, which is an expression used by scientist Richard C. Duncan, Ph.D to describe the process by which civilizations decline due to energy requirements. It is much easier to adapt to increasing energy prices, but rolling brownouts create uncertainty and wreak economic havoc. Is California about to slide into a new Dark Age? According to Dr. Duncan, it just might:
Although all primary sources of energy are important, the Olduvai theory postulates that electricity is the quintessence of Industrial Civilization. World energy production per capita increased strongly from 1945 to its all-time peak in 1979. Then from 1979 to 1999 ? for the first time in history ? it decreased from 1979 to 1999 at a rate of 0.33 %/year (the Olduvai 'slope', Figure 4). Next from 2000 to 2011, according to the Olduvai schema, world energy production per capita will decrease by about 0.70 %/year (the 'slide'). Then around year 2012 there will be a rash of permanent electrical blackouts ? worldwide. These blackouts, along with other factors, will cause energy production per capita by 2030 to fall to 3.32 b/year, the same value it had in 1930. The rate of decline from 2012 to 2030 is 5.44 %/year (the Olduvai 'cliff'). Thus, by definition, the duration of Industrial Civilization is less than or equal to 100 years.Here is to hoping that the "peak oil" folks are just a bunch of nutcases. Of course the answer to all these problems is sterling engines running on methane or solar energy. Not that the oil industry would let that happen.
3 Annotations Submitted
Tuesday the 30th of March, Abe Froman noted:
Serves them right ... this is just a prelude to when the whole state falls into the pacific (If you're going to use energy, you have to produce energy, not say "not in my backyard." Then turn off the lights lighting the inground pool in the backyard - dumbass)
Tuesday the 30th of March, crazywriterinla noted:
what? shit, I keep my air conditioner at 70 degrees all of the time, I do nothing wrong!
Tuesday the 30th of March, santo26 noted:
keeping the air conditioner at 70 by getting electricity from a power station or keeping the heat at 70 by burning a bunch of sludge in my basement is the same thing. perhaps the only way to get 21st century- type energy solutions is to do it ourselves. hey wiggins, let's build a stirling engine and run the athenaverse server off it!
