Green Options » energy use

Should President Bush Be Telling Americans to Conserve Gas?

Timothy B. Hurst — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:47:39 +0000

At a Tuesday White House press conference that focused mostly on the current economic downturn, President Bush indicated that he has no intention of calling on Americans to conserve gasoline, according to a report at Politico.

President Bush said, “They’re smart enough to figure out whether they’re going to drive less or not…the consumer’s plenty bright.”

The President explained the justification for his position by saying, “It’s a little presumptuous on my part to dictate how consumers live their own lives.”

But past examples show that President Bush has had no problem dictating how “consumers live their own lives,” at least when it syncs with his own political agenda. Surely you remember December of 2006, when teetering on the brink of a national economic recession, the President implored Americans to shop more:

“As we work with Congress in the coming year to chart a new course in Iraq and strengthen our military to meet the challenges of the 21st century, we must also work together to achieve important goals for the American people here at home. This work begins with keeping our economy growing. … And I encourage you all to go shopping more.”

Of course, there was also the notorious Bush call to go shopping in the time after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when President Bush insisted:

“Americans must get back to work, to go shopping, going to the theatre [sic], to help get the country back on a sounder financial footing.”

I am not arguing that it is necessarily the President’s job to recommend that consumers drive less, nor urge us to find other ways to conserve gasoline (though that would be nice). I am not looking for my government to become a so-called “nanny state” that micromanages all the details of my daily economic life.

I am arguing that the President of the United States is supposed to be a leader - sort of a ‘first citizen,’ if you will - that has the ability to send signals (both subtle and overt) that can have an appreciable impact on what we do and how we do it. Even a Lame Duck President with a 28 percent public approval rating has the ability to influence someone, right? Yes, the American people are smart, but economically determined aggregations of individual rational choices do not always work out to be the “best” ones at the collective level.

The problem is that President Bush cannot reconcile our need to cut carbon emissions with his belief that we cannot do so without “crippling the economy.” And remember we are talking about a (former) Texas oilman. Perhaps President Bush’s affinity for “product,” as he sometimes refers to it, creates an internal conflict that prevents him from suggesting that we somehow use less of it, when all he wants to do is drill for more of it.

The fact that Mr. Bush can’t recognize Americans may need some political leadership to help stabilize energy consumption and rein-in carbon emissions has stood in the way of any substantive action on climate change in the seven and a half years President Bush’s tenure.

Photo: © Patricia Marroquin | Dreamstime.com

EIA Predicts 50% Increase in World Energy Consumption by 2030

Timothy B. Hurst — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:12:52 +0000

World marketed energy consumption is projected to increase by 50 percent from 2005 to 2030, according to a new report from the United States Energy Information Agency. Total energy demand in non-OECD countries is projected to increase by 95 percent, while OECD countries are expected to increase consumption by 24 percent.

According to the annual report, International Energy Outlook, the robust growth in demand among the non-OECD nations is largely the result of strong projected economic growth. In all the non-OECD regions combined, economic activity is predicted to increase by 5.2 percent per year, as compared with an average of 2.3 percent per year for the OECD countries.

I’ve gleaned some of the notable highlights from the report and digested/paraphrased so you wouldn’t have to. The full report will be out in July.

Your Carbon Use - In Black Balloons [video]

Timothy B. Hurst — Sun, 18 May 2008 22:30:31 +0000

The accumulation of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere can be a difficult concept to visualize (maybe something to do with the fact that CO2 is invisible). So if you’re a visual learner like me, you’ll want to watch this short from the Energy Saving Campaign [45 seconds].
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Phantom Loads Adding 8% to Your Electric Bill (video)

Timothy B. Hurst — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:48:41 +0000

Did you know that over the course of a year, a microwave operating in standby mode will use about the same amount of electricity as it would if it ran on HIGH for 24 hours? Frightening, isn’t it? In fact, the average American home has 20-40 appliances plugged in at any given time, and in a year those appliances will together use what is equivalent to one month of electricity for the entire household - just sitting there. This great little short from GOOD Magazine called “Vampire Energy,” explains the costs of running your home’s appliances on standby mode, and does so with tangible examples and real numbers. Enjoy.

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Elements of Building: Energy

Philip Proefrock — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:52:27 +0000

Buildings, according to calculations done by Architecture 2030, are responsible for nearly half of the total energy consumption in the United States. And 76 percent of the electricity generated in this country goes to the Building Sector. So while there are a range of steps that need to be taken in moving toward a more sustainable lifestyle, Buildings, and the energy they consume, need to be at the forefront of any considerations when moving toward greater sustainability.

Saving energy in buildings is both one of the easiest things that can be done, as well as one of the hardest. The principles for creating a building that needs less energy and operates more efficiently are well known. Most building technology is fairly basic and easy for even non-experts to understand. This makes it simple. We don’t have to wait for expensive, high tech solutions (though they can contribute greatly and will provide new flexibility and compelling possibilities for building better buildings in the future). Heavily insulated buildings can be easily constructed with readily available and well known technology. Adding more insulation to walls is easy, though there is a cost. Consumers and building owners need to become more aware of the long term costs of operating a building, and give consideration to more than just the initial construction costs. And overcoming economic considerations and taking a long-term view is the hard part.

Architecture Week 2008 - Is It Sustainable?

Philip Proefrock — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:35:26 +0000

Architecture Week was first established one year ago as part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the American Institute of Architects. This year, for the second Architecture Week, there are three big programs the organization is promoting. But sustainability gets only a passing mention in one of them, and seems not to be part of the focus anywhere in the program.

While the AIA has another program it also began last year titled “Walk the Walk” that offers a good number of resources on sustainability both for architectural clients and the general public, as well as for architects and other building professionals, the topic is not highlighted in the Architecture Week program in any significant way.