Peak Oil Chat

The average person needs at least 1600 (starvation level), to 4500 (Olympic athlete) Calories a day to live. For the following I will use 2500 Calories.

1000 calories = 1 Calorie
1 calorie = 0.00396566683 BTU
1000 x 0.00396566683 = 3.965 BTU per Calorie
2500 (average) x 3.966 = 9915 BTU per day
1.0 horsepower (hp) = 2545 Btu per hour

Therefore, we consume about 3.9 HP equivalent of energy every day.

In one year, that amounts to 1421.99 HP (3 618 975 BTU).
1 US gallon of gasoline (or 3.79 litres) = 115,000 Btu

Our body needs the equivalent amount of energy of 31.47 gallons of gasoline (119.27 litres) in one year.

If 1 Calorie of food energy takes 10 Calories of fossil fuel energy to produce, that translates into 3 618 975 x 10 = 36 189 750 BTU of energy required to produce enough food for one person for one year.

1 barrel of oil = 5 800 000 million Btu
36 189 750 / 5 800 000 = 6.23961

In one year, for food alone, the equivalent energy of 6.24 barrels of oil is needed for each person in North America. (1 barrel holds 42 gallons of crude oil)

Or, 1192.27 litres of gasoline.

Enough to fly a Boeing 747, carrying 568 people, for 5 minutes, at 550 miles per hour (900 km/h)!

Sources:
Bioenergy Conversion Factors: http://bioenergy.ornl.gov/papers/misc/energy_conv.html
Energy needs: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_food_does_the_human_body_need
Calories: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie