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Power
to Decide
Increased energy costs may force many consumers to reevaluate ?energy consumption? choices--
by
David B. South, Jr.
reprinted from The Monolithic Dome Roundup Fall 2000
Recently I saw a report on the cost of electricity nearly doubling in San Diego, California. The average residential bill went from around $50 to $100 and the average small-business bill went from $166 to over $350 per month.
Many people blamed the increase on the deregulation of the power industry. However, some pointed to this decade?s increased demand for energy and the stagnation in constructing new power facilities.
No matter what the underlying problems may be, consumers are paying more for the same service they received only a month or two ago. Some people even said they had to decide between paying for electricity or buying food.
The solution to power supply problems, in the long run, should be obvious. Either we lower our demand for or increase the supply of energy.
Supply
To increase supply will require massive investments in power generation facilities. These investments, costlier than ever before, will have to be paid for by the consumers ? by you and me.
And what type of plant do you build? Coal, nuclear, hydroelectric, solar? Each of these solutions has advantages, drawbacks and significant stumbling blocks before the projects can even begin.
I do not think a hydroelectric dam can even be built in the United States due to environmental concerns and a lack of good places for such dams. Solar energy and other alternatives like wind or ocean-wave generation are still very expensive per unit of power generated. A coal or especially a nuclear project can be killed by political pressures alone.
Demand
As individuals and customers of energy companies, we are not helpless. We can choose to use less energy. Every time we build a home, buy a car, or change a light bulb we make decisions about how much energy we will be using. Do we buy the SUV with its 10 mile-per-gallon V8 engine or do we buy a smaller, 25 mile-per-gallon car? Do we buy a traditional house with an eight-ton air-conditioning system, or do we build a Monolithic Dome which only uses a two ton unit?
The decisions we make now, may mean ? in the future ? the difference between paying for our electric bill or our groceries.
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