Posted on 11/27/2019 3:54:11 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
This Thanksgiving, Americans will suck up 350 gigawatts of electricity--equivalent to the entire world’s nuclear power capacity in 2012--making turkeys.
So, while we spend time being thankful this Thursday as we gather around the dinner table with family and friends, we should take a moment to extend that thanks to the energy that will be consumed making the turkey and all the trimmings.
But you might be surprised to know that Americans consume far less energy on Thanksgiving than on just any old Thursday—despite the fact that turkeys take nearly all night in the oven to cook.
Thanksgiving by the numbers
Americans aren’t the only ones with a weight problem; turkeys are getting a bit too big for their britches, too. The average Thanksgiving turkey size in 2019 is 30 pounds! That’s one big bird, and more than double from the 13 pound average sold in the 1930s. The fact that turkeys have bulged into enormous proportions means that it takes longer to cook. A 30-pound bird (stuffed, or course, because who doesn’t like in-the-bird stuffing?) can take 6.25 hours to cook in a 350° oven. The unstuffed equivalent takes about 1.25 hours less time to roast.
The Electric Cost of Roasting Tom
We did the math, and the average electric oven (non-convection) of the 2000-2400-watt variety will chew through a little over 12 kWh of electricity to cook that tom for 6 hours. At an average cost of 13.3 cents per kwh for electricity in the United States, turkey cookers will pay about $1.60 for the electricity to cook their birds (a couple of pennies more if you keep peeking at it while its cooking).
All Together Now
Americans will consume a staggering 46,000,000 turkeys this Thanksgiving. At 12 kWh each, that’s 552,000,000 kWh—for a single meal.
(Excerpt) Read more at oilprice.com ...
“he average Thanksgiving turkey size in 2019 is 30 pounds!”
No way. Nowhere close. I’ve never seen a 30 lb turkey in a grocery store.
At 20 minutes a pound plus twenty, better put that bird in at 2 am if it’s going to lunch.
A couple weeks back I increased my already bloated carbon footprint by cutting a king three trash can turkeys simultaneously and frying three more. Oh the humanity.
What a ridiculous question. Someone needs to slap some sense into this person. Reminds be of that SNL skit from a couple of decades ago, What if Eleanor Roosevelt could fly?
I’ll be enjoying the waste heat (and aroma) from my countertop rotisserie, and burning up as many watts as possible playing “Alices Restaurant” at high volume, multiple times.
The after-dinner naps
Oh shut up you scold.
who cares?
You could really go places with this information.
350 gigawatts makes a bolt of lightning seem like a nightlight by comparision.
Where we’re going we don’t need roads.
“20 minutes a pound plus twenty, better put that bird in at 2 am if it’s going to lunch.”
I’m not following.
After eating. Nothing.
Why aren’t the concern-niks worried about Bitcoin mining farms? They use massive amounts of energy per Bitcoin.
I said “bullschitt” when I saw that too
I always look for the smallest turkey. This year, we have decided to go out instead of spending the entire day cooking.
Oh I dare.
This Thanksgiving, Americans will suck up 350 gigawatts of electricity—equivalent to the entire world’s nuclear power capacity in 2012—making turkeys. …Wow. That’s only 289.2562 times more power than needed to run the flux capacitor for a time-travel jump.
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