EROEI – EROI sources

The subject of net energy or Energy Returned on Energy Invested (ERoEI was
introduced by Howard T. Odum’s 1973 article in Ambio, the Journal of the
Swedish Academy of Sciences. And while the subject had been brought up
before, such as in Frederick Cottrell’s 1955 book, Energy and Society,

Odum’s article triggered wide attention, and by 1985, there were almost a
thousand references to the subject in the U.S. Department of Energy’s
“RECON” database (as noted in the first reference “! ERoEI (Net Energy) in
the EnergyResources Group “Files” section.

(Also, please note the distinction between ERoEI and EROI, Where ERoEI
specifically notes energy is invested and not money, while EROI is ambiguous
on the subject, and can-and has-lead to unnecessary confusion.)

In the latter-1970s, the subject of “net energy” gained substantial
attention, including congressional hearings and Public Law 93-577, “The
Federal Nonnuclear Research and Development Act.” in 1979, which you can see
by searching “Public Law 93-577″ on Google and selecting the second item to
show up titled: ” <http://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=9100DWX0.txt>
Federal Nonnuclear Research and Development Act (Public Law 93-577).

From then on, the subject becomes an interesting story, as an analytical
process intended to provide a measure of the “relative merit” of our energy
options became both used and attacked-depending on one’s point of view and
interests-with perhaps the best example of that confusion coming from the
ethanol supporters.

The “bottom line” today is that we are now living in the most uncertain
times in human history-with a financial system that is in massive disarray
for a number of reasons-and we still do not have an accurate and effectively
agreed upon measure of the “relative merit” of the physical energy processes
our society needs to power its full systemic operations.

This can be fixed, and maybe the EnergyResources Group could be a factor in
doing so.

However, that “fix” has to be accurate, communicable, and open for attack by
those with vested interests in other “solutions,” not recognizing the most
fundamental fact of energy-which is that it is a physical quantity that
powers physical processes, all of which are inextricably bound to the
inescapable physical laws of nature.

Enough for now

Tom Robertson, Moderator, EnergyResources Group