A penny saved is a penny earned.
— Ben Franklin This month’s column will focus on wasted energy, energy that is produced with an end product that is never used or is poorly utilized. It’s about waste that can be controlled by smart and conservative usage or that can be minimized by personal discipline. In turn that will save energy, help our environment and even make us healthier. Is waste a human foible or a natural response? I remember a nature program that focused on bears in Alaska (this was way before Stephen Colbert). The bears were feasting on salmon, swatting these abundant fish down and taking a bite, then grabbing another fish. The narrator commented on this noting that when the salmon are abundant the bears waste their dinner. When it comes to abundance, we humans follow the same pattern. I wonder if this is something that is built into nature, as a control mechanism for when one species gets out of control, which got lost in the evolutionary process with humankind. This column addresses human foibles vs. advents in technology. An abundance in food has been made possible with technology. 40% of American food is wasted It is fact that 40% of all food produced in America is wasted. This can be through a number of factors, such as poor transportation methods, refrigeration failure or simply food that is never eaten and discarded. There is also the transporting of energy. If I have a pet peeve, it is wasting food, which requires a lot of energy to grow, store, ship and prepare. Do you ever remember your mother (for baby boomers only) saying, “Finish your food there are people starving in China!” That is no longer true, at least for the most part, but there was a reason to appreciate the abundance we had in this country compared to others that made some of us “too abundant.” How much energy is used to process food? Let’s start with the basics. Oil is used not only as fuel for the tractor and other farm equipment, it is also from where fertilizer is synthesized. Then you have some kind of storage that will require at least lighting and most likely some kind of temperature and humidity control. There is the processing step, depending on the food product, such as cutting, canning, wrapping, boxing, etc. Next is the energy in transporting the food, this includes refrigerated trucks. Then there is the processing, which includes putting it in containers, processing as part of another product, labeling and date stamping. Then once the food has reached your local supermarket, it too has the responsibility to stock, store and maintain safety for the food. So how much energy are we talking about? According to Popular Science, 5% of the total energy usage in America is simply wasted vis-a-vis food. This is enough to power Washington state for nearly a year. I purposely used this analogy with Washington State instead of Washington D.C. as the latter is powered by lobbyists and hot air. Too bright? A second source of wasted energy is light. Light pollution is a subject of recent controversy. Science is making note that manmade light is having a universal effect on plants and animals as well as us. Studies show a disruption in sleep patterns in humans and other creatures and the consequences. It is curious that Edison said that sleep was a waste of time. It is the most obvious sight from outer space as the presence of “intelligent life” as it were. The waste of light energy has a twofold effect. It seems that we have abundant energy that we can light without regard. I cite my original statement on the nature of abundance. The tendency is to just flick the switch and let there be light ... no matter how much. The efficient use of light can be achieved with timers and simple conservative use as well as reflectors. Astronauts were confounded by the light seen from outer space. Save for aircraft warning and similar safety devices, the bright light that is seen from space is simply wasted. Another controllable waste of energy is simply leaving things on at home, when they should be turned off. This means heating, cooling and the lights. My significant other made this note based on her plethora of personal reminders to this writer. In conclusion So what can we do? I think it all comes down to simple discipline and responsibility. Technology can only do so much. We have almost become dependent on technology to solve our problems. As for food, I can only come up with some partial solutions. I think that regional markets are one partial solution. However, this may not be the case in many instances. For example, it can take less energy and resources to grow food in one location that has a natural propensity for growing say cherries or beef than it does for offsetting the energy of shipping and temporary storage of a local farmer who is less productive in his locale. On the other hand, a shift to eating plant-based foods may be a solution. For example grain-fed cattle require 11 pounds of grain for one pound of beef while turkeys are far more efficient in feeding at less than two pounds of feed for one pound of meat. Grass-fed beef also is more efficient; no need to import grain and the beef is much better tasting and healthier. For a more complete analysis of the food and energy nexus please check out Michael Webber, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin who has written quite a bit on this subject. Visit his website at www.webberenergygroup.com. And don’t forget to turn off the lights.
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AuthorJames Bobreski is a process control engineer who has been in the field of electric power production for 43 years. His “Alternate Energy” column runs monthly. Archives
June 2020
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