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| "Population 2012 Country Ranks, By Rank." Population 2012 Country Ranks, By Rank. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. |
Burning the Future: Energy Consumption in
Relation to GDP and Population
It has been a rising critique of the U.S that its energy usage in comparison to its population is unjustified; but the basis that population is what drives energy consumption is the foundation of inaccuracy. The truth lies in a correlation between energy consumption and GDP (gross domestic produce). In laymans terms, the connection is actually between how much energy is used
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| "GDP (current US$)." GDP (current US$). N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. |
and money being made. When we look into this, it makes sense. Energy isn't used on a population basis, having a large amount of people does not mean that they are all using -- or have access to--
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| "International Energy Statistics - EIA." International Energy Statistics - EIA. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015. |
energy. However, if a country is earning massive amounts of money, it must be exerting energy to generate income. According to the statistics shown, the United States used about 18% of the worlds total energy consumed in 2012, but earned 22% of the worlds GDP. While not the same, a 4% difference is incredibly close. The reasoning behind this link is simple, the more energy you are exerting, the more goods you are producing, which means more commodities. As energy output of a nation increases, so does its GDP, a trend one can see in developing nations in which their first step is producing thriving coal/oil based factories. In summation, the idea that population and energy consumed are correlated is false, and the true connection lies between GDP and energy consumed.
I appreciate your argument. It is well thought out, concise, and well written. The question that begs, though, is, "Is it ok that 5% of the world's used (presumably) 22% of the world's goods and services?" Are we being overly wasteful?
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