Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
OBSERVATIONS
It should be obvious by now to anyone who is paying attention that climate change is here and
our profligate combustion of fossil fuels is the principal cause. We need to slow it down, rethink
what we do, shift to less harmful technologies, and act to leave a better world for our children.
If polar bears become extinct in the wild, the blame will fall squarely on everyone who drives
a car or uses electricity generated with fossil fuels, and especially on the oil and coal company
executives who have gotten wealthy encouraging greater use of fossil fuels while denying their
own culpability. It is difficult to imagine anything more sad and senseless.
Movement toward a less centralized pattern of energy use to make our energy supplies less
vulnerable and less attractive to terrorists is possible. Lower-cost or at least fixed-cost energy
choices for residential and commercial energy users are available. Industrial users have strong
incentives for self-generation of energy supplies in the prospects of a new revenue stream for
excess energy generated and more secure energy supplies than are currently supplied by intercon-
nected power grids.
A quiet concrete home to withstand more frequent storms, electrified by solar photovoltaics,
heated and cooled by geothermal heat pumps, with household water heated by solar thermal col-
lectors and a hybrid or fuel cell car in the garage—this is not an impossible dream. It is within
reach, if we want it. The important question is, do we want it? We have the technology and the
ingenuity. Do we have the will?
The focus here has been to establish a beginning for development of a conceptual framework
for analysis of technological options useful in formulating a coherent national energy policy for the
United States. If this topic has advanced the discussion of relevant issues that must be addressed
during the formation of energy policy, it has served its purpose.
REFERENCES
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the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Colorado, Docket No. 09A-494E. In the Matter of the
Application of Black Hills/Colorado Electric Utility Company LP, for an Order Approving Its 2010
Qualifying Retail Utility Compliance Plan. Attachment A. 1 June, Denver, CO. Available from Colorado
Public Utilities Commission, 1560 Broadway, Suite 250, Denver, CO 80202.
Butler, L., and K. Neuhoff. 2008. “Comparison of Feed-In Tariff, Quota and Auction Mechanisms to Support
Wind Power Development.” Renewable Energy 33: 1854-1867.
ClimateMaster. 2011. “Geothermal Applications.” www.climatemaster.com/commercial-geothermal.
Commission of the European Communities (EC). 2005. Communication from the Commission: The Support
of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources {SEC(2005) 1571} . Brussels: Commission of the European
Communities.
Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). 2006. “Industrial Energy Efficiency: Using New Tech-
nologies to Reduce Energy Use in Industry and Manufacturing.” Washington, DC: Environmental and
Energy Study Institute.
Excel Energy Solutions Inc. 2011. “Geothermal Heating and Cooling: Introduction to Geothermal.” www.
excelenergysolutions.com/geothermal-heating-cooling-main.html.
GeoExchange. 2011. “Geothermal Heat Pumps.” www.geoexchange.org/index.php?option=com_content&
view=article&id=48:geothermal-heat-pumps&catid=375:geothermal-hvac&Itemid=32.
German Renewable Energies Agency. 2011. “Politik: Ausbauziele und Förderung Erneuerbarer Energien”
(Politics: targets and promotion of renewable energy). www.unendlich-viel-energie.de/de/politik/10-
jahre-eeg.html.
Granade, Hannah Choi, Jon Creyts, Anton Derkach, Philip Farese, Scott Nyquist, and Ken Ostrowski. 2009.
Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy . Atlanta, GA: McKinsey.
Hamel, Gary, and C.K. Prahalad. 1989. “Strategic Intent.” Harvard Business Review (May-June): 63-76.
 
 
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