Insights on cooperative electricity consumption in human aggregates from a thermodynamic analysis: Implications for energy policies

Abstract

Purpose: Successful energy policy and energy security are dependent on political decision making based on a deep comprehension of the relationship between human behavior and energy use. Political and economic phenomena of society are the emergent product of the interactions of individuals with different characteristics. Understanding the complexities of such systems will eventually improve the rate of success of political and economic actions, minimizing the environmental impact and maximizing human satisfaction. Design/Methodology/Approach: Thermodynamics is the science best designed for the study of the emergence of novel properties from the interaction of particles. It has successfully described closed systems near equilibrium and is expanding its scope of applications to evolving open systems. Here, irreversible thermodynamics and computer simulations are used to understand the dynamics of the emergence of prosocial behavior that allows sustained large-scale cooperation and its possible application to manage future energy policies. Findings: Computer simulations identified the relevant aspects that allow for the sustained administration of public goods. They also tested for social arrangements that favor cooperation. Empirical studies based on these findings revealed the existence of synergies that arise from aggregate energy use in humans and animal societies. Practical Implications: Humanity will keep growing in the total number of individuals and in the intensity of per capita consumption, increasing global energy needs. This provides an incentive to improve the efficiency in energy production and use, which can be achieved with improved national and international cooperation. Policies addressing cooperation are essential for a better management of the side effects of energy consumption that are not amenable to control by market forces alone, allowing to achieve successful energy policies that provide for better energy security. Originality/Value The interdisciplinary approach to complex global dynamics of energy consumption allows identifying some basic issues on which sustained international cooperation can be built. © Springer-Verlag London 2013.