One of the leading issues we have today is our consumption of energy. Worldwide energy consumption is leading to increased air pollution, and has a negative effect on every living thing on this planet. The article “The Efficiency Dilemma” discusses the current situation we are in with regards to energy consumption. It points out that as everything gets more energy efficient, more people start using things and more things that need energy are created, thereby cancelling out the effects of more energy efficiency. No matter how one looks at it, our energy consumption is increasing worldwide; the vicious cycle of increasing energy efficiency while increasing energy usage we have entered into can be looked at through the lenses of class, globalization and power.
One of the aspects of increasing energy efficiency and improving how a product is made is that generally the price will drop. Items that were once only attainable b the upper class are no owned by middle and lower class people. As an example, the article says, “the average refrigerator sold in the United States today uses three-quarters less energy than the 1975 average, even though it is 20% larger and costs 60% less” (Owen, 2010). As a result, just about every household now had a refrigerator regardless of class, while some have garage refrigerators and freezers as well. This increase in the consumption of an objects use pretty much mitigates any increase in energy efficiency the object might have. This trickle down of electronic use among the classes can be seen in everything from televisions to cell phones. It was not that long ago that only the rich had access to a cell phone; now a cell phone can be purchased for twenty dollars at Walmart. A smart phone can be purchased for under $50 without all the bells and whistles. Now not only does almost every household have a cell phone, most individuals within each household do as well. This increases power consumption as each cell phone must be charged on a regular basis. The same idea applies to cars. In response to the Arab oil embargo of 1975 the United States passed regulations for fuel-economy (Owen, 2010). Logic would dictate that consumption of oil would decrease, but instead the amount used increased as cars became less of a luxury (Owen, 2010). Also, more households purchased vehicles because they became less expensive and more available to all classes. In fact, in the U.S. there are around fifty million more vehicles registered than there are licensed drivers to drive them (Owen, 2010). This shows how an increase in the classes who can afford an item increases energy consumption despite the products themselves being more energy efficient.
Another factor increasing consumption of energy is globalization. This is not an issue confined to any one locality, but a worldwide issue. As Owen (2010) says, “Decreasing reliance on fossil fuels is a pressing global need. The question is whether improving efficiency, rather than reducing total consumption, can possibly bring about the desired result.” While countries like the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and others are trying to improve efficiency, countries like China have pretty much no protections in place to reduce energy consumption. Since worldwide trade has increased, so has every countries access to the internet, cell phones, computers, cars and other technologies. Countries that once had little access to these special technologies now use them at increasing rates. In fact, internet usage has increased worldwide by 380% since 2000 (Simsim, 2011). Along with internet usage increasing comes the requisite technologies like computers and cell phones. Of course, this also means an increase in energy consumption worldwide, despite an increase in energy efficiency. China produces so much pollution as a result of factories that it is not abnormal to have to wear masks in Beijing daily, and “red alerts” have been called ("What is China doing to tackle its air pollution? - BBC News", 2016). A red alert means the air is so bad that they shut down school, factories, construction sites and make around half of the vehicles stay off the road to reduce emissions ("What is China doing to tackle its air pollution? - BBC News", 2016). For the Olympics to be had there they had to stop all pollution production for two weeks in order to have clear enough air for the participants and spectators to breath ("What is China doing to tackle its air pollution? - BBC News", 2016). Furthermore, the use of air conditioners tripled between 1997 and 2007 in China; it is predicted that the use of air conditioners will increase 10 times between 2005 and 2020 in India (Owen, 2010). Forty percent of the energy consumed in Mumbai in 2009 came from the use of air conditioning (Owen, 2010). Until recently, air conditioning was only available in countries like the United States, and even then it was only available to those who had money. The more affordable appliances and electronics become, the further globalized they are going to become as well. This will just continue the increase in energy consumption.
Governmental power has a direct influence on power consumption. For instance, China not only manufactures most air conditioners, the government has also been subsidizing the purchase of air conditioners, causing air conditioner use to increase exponentially (Owen, 2010). Whenever government asserts its power to increase somethings efficiency, they are causing its cost to reduce. Products which increase in efficiency tend to begin to use less expensive parts and therefore reduce in costs. This reduction in cost then increases the number of people using the product. The idea that an increase in energy efficiency can have no effect because of an increase in use is called the Jevons paradox (Owen, 2010). While the use of governmental regulations may be necessary to turn around the environmental issues we face, the government’s use of power has not helped the problem, and it has instead taken it from an issue with a small amount of consumers to a large amount of consumers.
Owen (2010) brings up many issues with energy consumption versus energy efficiency. As multiple classes can afford to purchase items, they do; ironically they can often afford to purchase these items because they have become more energy efficient. It is not just the local class structure which has exploded in regards to energy use, globalization has cause a huge energy increase as well. The increased use of electronics, air conditioners and more around the world is causing an undeniable increase in our energy consumption. Finally, every time the government exercises its power to have a certain product increase its energy efficiency, the product becomes more popular, mitigating the energy savings. Government also uses its power to reward citizens for switching to more energy efficient products, such as water heaters and more. Unless all of these sociological elements come together and begin to make changes to the actual amount of energy consumed, versus just creating more energy efficient products that are going to be used more, the problem of energy consumption that Owen (2010) addresses will never be solved. Instead, energy consumption will just increase, and we will all possibly be wearing masks in the future.
References
Owen, D. (2010). The Efficiency Dilemma - The New Yorker. The New Yorker. Retrieved 13 April 2016, from http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/12/20/the-efficiency- dilemma
Simsim, M. (2011). Internet usage and user preferences in Saudi Arabia. Journal Of King Saud University - Engineering Sciences, 23(2), 101-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jksues.2011.03.006
What is China doing to tackle its air pollution? - BBC News. (2016). BBC News. Retrieved 13 April 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35351597
