Reply #30: EROEI isn't about efficiency, it's about energy in vs. energy out [View All]

[NickB79]

And anything less than a 1:1 ratio EROEI means we're using MORE energy to extract than we get from the extracted material itself. Such a system would quickly grind to a halt

For an analogy, say you worked a job where it cost you $50/day to drive to work and back. But, you only made $40/day in income. You don't continue to work that job because you are spending more than you are making. Similarly, if a company or nation is drilling an oil well but using more oil to power your drilling rigs, trucks, and oil tankers than you extract from the well itself, it will quickly go broke.

"As long as you have more of it to take out of the earth you can operate your machinery on it even as you burn your way through your supply."

At anything below 1:1 EROEI, you will be required to not only burn SOME of your supply, but ALL of it and then import some additional supplies to keep the system running.