Question

Discuss the nature of an exponentially growing quantity and explain what the term doubling time means. Explain why the problem of exponential growth is easily overlooked. Discuss some of the aspects of the growth of electric energy use in the U.S. Why can electric energy growth be faster than population growth? What are the implications of energy demand and productions on quality of life issues? On resources needed to produce energy? On energy related waste products (i.e. smoke, nuclear fuels, carbon dioxide production, etc)

Answer 1

Exponential growth means sharper growth of certain quantity with respect to time. It can be understand as, if we plot the growth of certain quantity with respect to time it grows exponentially.

Mathematically it represented as,

     

where,

amount of quantity at time t.

amount of quantity at time t=0.

growing factor

Doubling time means the time in which quantity of the substance get doubled.

For example :

let

then,

at doubling time

this is the doubling time for above example.

The major use of electrical energy in US is at residential and commercial sectors. Around 38.5% of generated electrical ernergy is consumed at residential sectors and around 36% of generated electical energy is consumed in commercial sectors. Only 25% of electic energy consumed in industrial sectors and only 0.2% of energy is consumed in transtortation.
As population increases the demand of better life style increases. In a developed country better life style comes under the technological awareness of there citizens. Thus with the growth of technology demand of more electric power increases and if a country have good rate of electric power generation then there is a massive growth in new technology and indirectly it increases quality of life.

In US the major source of electric power is non renewable recources like coal, natural gas and nuclear power plant. And then renewable resources like solar power plant, biomass, wind mills play a big role in electric power generation. Thus as demand of electric power increases there is a direct impact on increase of consumption of non renewable resources but on the other hand people try to invent more effective way to consume and generate electric power which indirectly affect technical advancement of a nation.

As mentioned above with the increase in demand of electric power incease in consumption of non renewable resources increases. This leads to increase in waste products of such resources like nuclear waste, ashes, smoke etc. Every nation is dealing with the problem of nuclear waste. Also use biogas and some other renewable resources increases such polutants.