Chapter 1 Flashcards
energy services
what consumers want from the energy system - hot showers, cold beers, lit rooms, spinning shafts
GDP
Gross Domestic Product. A measure of the production of a society, calculated by adding up all G&S produced in a country in a given period.
ceteris paribus
all things being equal
population momentum effect
causes the age distribution in a currently fast-growing popln to be disproportionately young (happens in many poor and developing nations). Younger poplns continue to reproduce faster than older poplns, until natural death rate = fertility rate.
(can also occur in opposite direction with declining popln and disproportionately old popln – Japan)
energy intensity
E/GDP
energy per unit of GDP
global average energy intensity has been FALLING worldwide for decades (idea 1: we are getting more “efficient” in our energy use over time OR idea 2: structure of global economy is evolving to include increasing levels of svcs and knowledge)
energy productivity
GDP/E
GDP as a fxn of energy - often used as a measure of comparative productivity across countries.
can be misleading b/c differences in:
- structure of economy and relative proportion of GDP from manufacturing vs. service sectors
- which goods are primarily manufactured
- weather
- availability of local energy resources
IPAT Framework
I=PAT
Impact = Population * Affluence * Technology
impact = can measure almost any aspect of the resource absorption or effects, often used to measure the env impact of society’s industrial choices
suggests that impact of energy resource choices across a fixed popln will have to come through either dramatically improved technology or a loss of affluence
positive analysis
fact-based and objective
what is
normative analysis
subjective and value based
what ought to be
system
a model constructed by weaving together a number of individual relationships into a comprehensive whole
set of relationships, feedback mechanisms, and transformations that must be mutually satisfied.
relationships are dynamic and changing, can alter nature of the system itself over time
main components of energy system: energy supply chain, economy, ecosystem (Nat. Resource Systems)
open vs. closed system
open system is continually influenced, informed, or constrained by activities of elements outside the system WHEREAS closed system receives its endowments at the time it’s set up and is isolated from outside influences.
nested system
when one system fits inside another, both of which fit inside a third
systems of energy supply chain, macroeconomy, and ecosystem nest inside of each other
marginal analysis
simplifies a relationship to a few variables that can be analyzed by holding all other variables constant.
Marginal Analysis: static, local, ceteris paribus, individual actor, better for micro-analysis
Systems Thinking: dynamic, global, all variables can change, many actors, best for complex interactions
model
constructed representations of how some elements of the world operation
an abstraction of reality
leverage points
SYSTEMS DYNAMICS
because systems are interconnected, any point can be affected by many others.
not all will have an equal effect since strength of transformations may vary
identifying where small efforts in one part of the system create major change in other parts of the system allows for the observation of leverage points
