As I brought up in a recent class, the availability and price of energy is very highly correlated with the quality of life. While it may seem obvious, some scholars have actually taken the effort of going to create a mathematical model of determining how much one unit of energy will impact the quality of life.
In the statistical field, there are 3 indicators that are widely accepted as the standard (along with others) for determining the physical quality of life.
- average life expectancy (LE) at age 1 year
- infant mortality (IM)
- literacy rates (LR).
The research paper presents an empirical equation showing the relation between the physical quality of life and the per capita electrical energy consumption in kilowatt hours.
View the entire study here: http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/issues/global/qualityoflife/QualityOfLifeVsEnergyConsumption.shtml
All the more reason we need sustainable methods of producing energy. It is a very complex problem. I appreciate your research and point of view.
ReplyDeleteBeth