First Principle of Energy Consumption

Modern life demands more and more energy. Peter Tertzakian describes this as The First Principle of Energy Consumption in Part I of his book The End of Energy Obesity published in 2009. This principle says that the wealthier we become the more energy we use. Personal wealth and well-being are directly related to energy consumption. This concept is an important contribution to the global energy debate.
Two Economic Worlds
Energy appetites must be addressed from different world perspectives to determine how energy use is related to wealth creation. Our planet can be divided into two economic worlds - the ‘wealthy world’ and the ‘wanting world’. The ‘wealthy world’ represents 56 percent of our global economy and 800 million people. In contrast ‘wanting world’ contains 44 percent of our global economy and 5.9 billion inhabitants. The ‘wanting world’ has 7 times the population of the ‘wealthy world’, and is on an eager chase to adopt modern consumer lifestyles and go through the changes the ‘wealthy world’ countries have been going through since the Industrial Revolution. Developing countries are aggressively trying to catch-up, building bridges, roads, dams, and power plants; generating wealth; and buying consumer goods. This process of industrialization, mobilization and wealth creation causes energy appetites to grow.
Wealth Creation and Energy Appetites
History shows us that developments associated with increasing the overall wealth per person, such as factories, cities, homes, offices, and transportations systems, consume more energy. The use of energy intense applications, such as refrigerators, automobiles, television sets, pharmaceuticals, packaged foods, vacations, houses and light bulbs, increases. The figure, U.S. Real GDP per Person and Personal Energy Appetite (1800 to 2007), illustrates this broad trend in wealth creation. This validates the First Principle of Energy Consumption where personal energy appetites followed the broad rise in American wealth creation. There is a steady climb of both through the period of the Industrial Revolution, showing two break points: electricity and the automobile. It rises even more sharply following World War II when the modern consumer lifestyle was adopted widely. This lifestyle consumes much more energy. The relationship of energy appetites and wealth creation is not exclusive to the United States, and can be demonstrated for almost any country in the world. What happens when the wieght of a few billion 'wanting world' residents with hungry energy appetites start increasing their standard of living and adopt the modern consumer lifestyle?
However, there is hope in breaking the First Principle of Energy Consumption. The End of Energy Obesity reveals how technology that enables social change (changes to the way that we live, work and play) can offer new solutions for reducing our reliance on using too much energy. People will adopt these changes because they will be more convenient and less expensive. As developing countries in the 'wanting world' follow the same trajectory as developed countries in the 'wealthy world', they have the potential to go through this development using clean energy solutions.

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