CMO - A Mixed Measurement

CMO stands for Cubic Mile of Oil, and is a measurement of energy consumption. Credit SRI International's Hew Crane with coining the term, found in a forthcoming book A Cubic Mile of Oil. This was reported by C|Net.

The measurement is an easy to grasp measurement, and can put a lot of the current energy situation into perspective. That perspective isn't one we necessarily want to see, but need to know.

The bad news is, renewable energy has a long way to go. The good news is, now we have a metric by which to measure our goals and create benchmarks. The bad news, people and governments are going to freak. The good news is, excuses for inaction will disappear, and policy-makers will be more accountable as people demand real results.

The article has a great, if somewhat depressing graphic of global sources of energy in 2006, and shows how far we have to go. And it gives a few examples of what it will really take. Well, great, at least now we know how far we have to go. Some people and companies will take this as good news and focus on niches that are apparently wide open.