A Place to Stand

Lets see how these figures pan out:

STATE-------PER CAPITA-------------SNEK
5. Norway 46,300 $----------------$2.17
6. Ireland 44,500 $---------------$7.75
7. United States 44,000 $---------$3.62
11. Iceland 38,000 $--------------$1.50
12. Hong Kong 37,300 $------------$7.30
13. Denmark 37,000 $--------------$6.00
14. Canada 35,600 $---------------$2.34
16. Austria 34,600 $--------------$5.30
18. Switzerland 34,000 $----------$5.17
19. Finland 33,700 $--------------$2.15
20. Australia 33,300 $------------$3.47
21. Japan 33,100 $----------------$4.40
22. Belgium 33,000 $--------------$4.53
23. Sweden 32,200 $---------------$2.50
24. Netherlands 32,100 $----------$5.91
25. Germany 31,900 $--------------$5.16
26. United Kingdom 31,800 $-------$6.14
27. Singapore 31,400 $------------$6.33
28. France 31,100 $---------------$4.54
29. Italy 30,200 $----------------$5.82
32. Taiwan 29,500 $---------------$3.14
33. Spain 27,400 $----------------$5.56
34. Israel 26,800 $---------------$4.33
35. New Zealand 26,200 $----------$3.19
40. Korea, South 24,500 $---------$3.26
42. Greece 24,000 $---------------$6.01
44. Kuwait 23,100 $---------------$3.61
46. Czech Republic 21,900 $-------$4.15
52. Portugal 19,800 $-------------$4.71
54. Puerto Rico 19,300 $----------$3.53
56. Slovakia 18,200 $-------------$4.40
57. Hungary 17,600 $--------------$5.33
62. Argentina 15,200 $------------$5.89
66. Poland 14,300 $---------------$5.17
68. Saudi Arabia 13,600 $---------$3.88
70. South Africa 13,300 $---------$1.94
71. Malaysia 12,900 $-------------$4.15
72. Chile 12,700 $----------------$4.81
74. Libya 12,300 $----------------$4.16
75. Russia 12,200 $---------------$2.12
79. Bulgaria 10,700 $-------------$3.32
Mexico 10,700 $-----------------$7.34
81. Kazakhstan 9,400 $------------$2.21
82. Thailand 9,200 $--------------$4.39
83. Romania 9,100 $---------------$4.17
84. Turkey 9,000 $----------------$6.88
85. Brazil 8,800 $----------------$4.99
Tunisia 8,800 $-----------------$7.00
88. Iran 8,700 $------------------$3.84
89. Colombia 8,600 $--------------$8.21
96. Belarus 8,100 $---------------$3.62
97. Ukraine 7,800 $---------------$1.76
99. China 7,700 $-----------------$2.45
100. Algeria 7,600 $--------------$8.03
104. Venezuela 7,200 $------------$4.59
107. Peru 6,600 $-----------------$9.50
118. Philippines 5,000 $----------$6.12
125. Sri Lanka 4,700 $-----------$11.57
126. Morocco 4,600 $--------------$5.92
129. Angola 4,400 $--------------$45.50
Serbia 4,300$ not known
131. Egypt 4,200 $----------------$4.81
132. Syria 4,100 $----------------$2.56
134. Indonesia 3,900 $------------$7.75
137. India 3,800 $----------------$6.12
143. Vietnam 3,100 $--------------$4.33
147. Iraq 2,900 $-----------------$2.83
154. Pakistan 2,600 $-------------$6.11
158. Sudan 2,400 $---------------$27.00
160. Bangladesh 2,300 $----------$10.89
173. Burma 1,800 $---------------$22.75
181. Nigeria 1,500 $-------------$17.18
205. Afghanistan 800 $-----------$40.00

That's more like it. So dividing it into 6 lots of 6 (excluding Serbia) we find
Average snek for top 12 (Norway-Japan) = 4.26
for next 12 (Belgium-New Zealand) = 4.76
for next 12 (South Korea-South Africa) = 4.32
for next 12 (Malaysia-Tunisia) = 4.62
for next 12 (Iran-Angola) = 9.26 (even without the Angola figure it would have been 5.96)
for next 12 (Egypt-Afghanistan) = 12.71

So we have a slightly lower snek at the wealthiest levels generally rising, though not greater than the level of random variation, until we reach income levels of about figures of about $7,500 at which point the snek rises abruptly.

Incidentally had Ireland, Hong Kong & Denmark not been in the first section it would have shown a figure of 3.34. Had the UK & Singapore not been in the 2nd section it would have had a snek of 4.46. One shouldn't really take out inconvenient figures & I am not putting these up as "real" figures however I think Hong Kong & Singapore which are non-nuclear because of lack of space & Denmark & Ireland out of ideological reasons & Britain which, for the same ideological reasons is letting our supply disappear could reasonably be taken out.

We may be seeing 2 lines compounding. A graph of well run countries would show the snek reducing to much lower levels at the wealthiest end (as Finland has managed) but there is also a line for the political influence of the "environmentalist" movement who, in promoting anti-nuclear & "alternative power" policies push costs up & consumption down. Because this is an essentially parasitic movement which appeals to people with few real problems to worry about this occurs much more in wealthy countries.

The last section may also be overstating the relationship between poverty super-low electricity consumption. It can be divided into poor countries which nonetheless have infrastructure & governments at least trying & places where neither electricity nor the government's writ runs very much outside the capital city (Angola also fits this). I think any country with a Snek above Peru at 9.50 is likely to be a very dangerous place.

PS I am now reading a US govt report on the increasing number of "failed states" & what the US cavalry should do about it. On p26 they mention is passing "One reason for the resurgence of Sendero Luminoso in Peru, for example, has been that in most respects, the state does not exist outside Lima" which reinforces the conclusion I came to in my previous paragraph about states with sneks of 9.5 & above being ones where the rule of law is breaking down. This has consequences for countries such as the UK with a snek of 2/3rds of that & the looming closure of 40% of our electric power. http://www.scribd.com/doc/3570373/The-Decline-Of-State-And-US-Strategy