Objective Energy Accounting

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Description

Chris Cook:

"A new paradigm is never easy to understand. I am advocating objective energy accounting here - ie that in relation to the material world at least that we should (as the Danes have implicitly done for 40 years) keep economic score in a fixed amount of Joules which is relevant to everyday experience. ie we don't measure our carpets in Ångström units or light years.

An energy unit of account is very different to units of energy currency such as heat/cooling credits, mobility credits, electricity credits, chemical energy credits (eg gas) which may be exchanged BY REFERENCE TO a positive unit of account in Joules. This is as distinct from our existing subjective but implicitly negative (because on a debt standard) units of account such as $, € or £.

We then implement energy policies based upon the Danish 'least carbon fuel cost' organising principle successfully applied since 1973 to transform our centralised National Grids into a decentralised/distributed and international Natural Grid.

https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2016/10/18/on-energy-independence/

Provided the commons of renewable energy and fossil resources are subject to a levy, then - with a relationship/ratio set at a suitably high level versus land use credits (ie currency local by definition) - an 'energy dividend' of energy credits may be provided to all as of right.

In relation to your point about inflation, you assume the deficit-based economics of scarcity, that a currency must be scarce to be valuable, when in fact the truth is that a currency must be USEFUL to be acceptable in exchange, with the price (denominated in a unit of account) then varyng according to amenity, scarcity and other value criteria.

There is no possibility of inflation, because the energy credits (energy prepay) which people may save, will be denominated in Joules, and Joules are a constant. What will happen is that many different possible types of energy credit (of which only one or two will emerge as generally accepted currency) will vary in energy cost against others.

Note here that the secular decline in EROEI of fossil fuels is a complete game-changer (because it essentially caps oil prices through an affordability - Peak Consumption - constraint). This trend is driving the transformation of energy markets from a dumb (capital intensive) intermediated market in energy-as-commodity to a 'smart' (capital lite) and dis-intermediated market in energy-as-a-service.

In other words, we are seeing intellectual capital (the Fifth Fuel) replace financial capital and energy use.

Provided there is a new flow of energy into the system (ie from Sun and Earth) then the appliication of the correct protocols/institutions and instruments (energy credits) will make us wealthier individuallyand as a society." (https://www.facebook.com/chris.cook.9275/posts/10156127796286265?)