1 / 30

Balancing Act: Planning for a Sustainable Wisconsin

Learn about sustainable energy sources, transportation options, and housing density in Wisconsin. Discover the impacts on health, finances, and the environment. Explore renewable energy advantages and disadvantages to make informed choices for a greener future.

debraperez
Download Presentation

Balancing Act: Planning for a Sustainable Wisconsin

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Balancing Act: Planning for a Sustainable Wisconsin Crispin Pierce, Ph.D. 28 December 2005

  2. Outline • What Makes Wisconsin Special • What are Sustainable Choices • Energy sources • Transportation • Housing density • Sustainable Choice Summary • Questions

  3. What makes Wisconsin special?

  4. Why care about energy, transportation and housing choices? • Affects our health (e.g. current fine particle emissions kill thousands of people each year) • Affects our pocketbooks (e.g. billions of dollars spent on disaster cleanup and insurance) • Affects our children and their children (e.g. clean water, clean air, fishing, hunting, a safe environment)

  5. Energy • What forms of energy do we need?

  6. Advantages Large US reserves Known technology Potential for lowering mercury emissions. Disadvantages Nonrenewable Acid rain Mercury in fish Particulate matter Global warming Energy: Coal

  7. Advantages: Known technology Infrastructure exists Disadvantages Nonrenewable Air pollution (NOx, particulates, CO) Drilling, piping, and refining effects Global warming Energy: Petroleum

  8. Advantages Very low emissions Relatively safe Disadvantages Major water needs for cooling Extremely toxic spent fuel materials Extremely long half-lives of these wastes Energy: Nuclear

  9. Advantages Renewable Very low impact Local generation Disadvantages Need constant windy conditions Batteries for storage Startup costs Energy: Wind

  10. Advantages Renewable Local generation Low impact Disadvantages Need regular sunlight Storage impractical Startup cost Energy: Solar Heating

  11. Advantages Renewable Local generation Creates electricity Low impact Disadvantages Low efficiency Batteries for storage Startup cost Energy: Solar Photovoltaic

  12. Advantages Renewable Local generation Simple Disadvantages Particulates Local deforestation Energy: Biomass

  13. Transportation • What’s important about our transportation?

  14. http://www.transact.org/nrdc/ozone.htm

  15. Advantages Known technology Variety of engine sizes Disadvantages Relies on nonrenewable fuels Air and noise pollution Global warming Transportation: Internal Combustion Engines

  16. Advantages Much more fuel efficient Quieter Reduced air pollution Disadvantages Still relies on nonrenewable fuels Higher battery cost Transportation: Hybrid Engines

  17. Advantages Water vapor exhaust Disadvantages Energy needed to purify H2 Explosion potential Distribution system Transportation: Fuel Cell

  18. Advantages Utilizes renewable ethanol Greatly reduced global warming Disadvantages Current laws allow increase in gas guzzlers w/flex fuel car Distribution system Transportation: Flex-Fuel

  19. Housing Density • What is important about our housing?

  20. http://oklahoma.sierraclub.org/sprawl/figure1.jpg

  21. Advantages Country land cheaper Initial country living Appearance of safety Disadvantages Added commute time, cost and pollution Increased taxes for roads Destruction of farms, open space, forests, wetlands, etc. Housing Density: Suburbs

  22. Advantages Short/no commute Close to businesses and friends Lower tax costs for infrastructure Preserves natural land functions (e.g. clean water supply) Disadvantages Higher land costs Requires more planning Housing Density: Urban

  23. Sustainable Choice Summary • Energy • Conservation • Wind, solar, biomass emphasis

  24. Transportation • Raise fuel economy standards • Hybrid engines • Flex-fuel vehicles http://images.securedwebform.com/stock/300/toyota/prius/2002/4sa.jpg

  25. Housing density • Urban, multiple use design http://www.homesalameda.org/graphics/urban.jpg

  26. Questions?

  27. Information Sources • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control • Natural Resources Defense Council • Oklahoma Sierra Club

More Related