If we see the ‘energy problem’ through the eyes of the consumer of said energy, there is a lot to contemplate.

China’s raw energy consumption is 75% higher than the US. 66% of their electricity is generated from coal. Of the 800,000 deaths a year globally from the problems with coal electricity generation, 670,000 of those are in China. There are 1.4b people and at present, each uses 1/3 the amount of energy as the American consumer.

Have you ever heard of a ‘no peeing section in a pool?’.  Exactly.  

The carbon intensity in China is significant and will grow. And without diving into a trade war discussion, China exports a significant # of goods to the US- because they can make and ship them significantly cheaper than elsewhere in the World.

Consumers have a choice: We can buy products that are more expensive and control the energy grid and emissions they create OR we can offshore some energy demand to those building our products, lose control of the emissions and pay less for products.

Those decisions don’t need politicians but I’ll give you a hint- a book was written about this- the title says it all: ‘The Myth of the Ethical Consumer’. We just want cheap stuff and we offshore the pollution associated with it.

#hottakeoftheday