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CONSERVATION SC 208 Our Energy Future April 21, 2006 John Bush

CONSERVATION SC 208 Our Energy Future April 21, 2006 John Bush. DEFINITIONS OF CONSERVATION. Preservation (OED) From waste Of existing conditions Of the environment, especially natural resources Deliberate, planned or thoughtful preserving, guarding, or protecting (Webster’s)

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CONSERVATION SC 208 Our Energy Future April 21, 2006 John Bush

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  1. CONSERVATIONSC 208 Our Energy FutureApril 21, 2006 John Bush

  2. DEFINITIONS OF CONSERVATION • Preservation (OED) • From waste • Of existing conditions • Of the environment, especially natural resources • Deliberate, planned or thoughtful preserving, guarding, or protecting (Webster’s) • The planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect • The wise utilization of a natural product so as to prevent waste and ensure future use of resources that have been depleted

  3. What are we trying to conserve? • What reasons are offered to conserve it?

  4. WHAT? • Petroleum conservation—PC • Energy conservation—EC • Resource conservation—RC

  5. WHY?WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO PRESERVE? • To preserve the capitalist economic system (the global economy as presently defined) by achieving economic goals as they are being presently defined--CP • To preserve the degree of freedom Americans have (subject primarily to economic constraints) with regard to the places they live and the lifestyles they adopt—SP • To preserve for future generations the resources they may need (waste is morally bad)—GP • To preserve the biosphere by minimizing the impacts of human action—EP • To transform the capitalist economic system into one that more fairly distributes the costs and benefits of human activity --CT

  6. NATURAL CAPITALISM • Paul Hawken, Amory Lovens, Hunter Lovens • “To harness the talent of business to solve the world’s deepest environmental and social problems” • “People could live twice as well but use half as much material and energy” by “combining innovations in business practice and public policy”

  7. NATURAL CAPITALISMASSUMPTIONS • Natural capital (resources, living systems, and ecosystem services) is the limiting factor in economic development • For a sustainable economy must deal with badly designed business systems, population growth, and wasteful consumption • All forms of capital must be fully valued: human, manufactured, financial, natural • Sustainability depends on redressing global inequities of income and material well-being • Democratic systems of government based on the needs of people rather than of business are required.

  8. RESOURCE PRODUCTIVITY • Doing more with less (differs from economic efficiency) • Only 6% of materials end up in products • The economy operates at 10% of theoretical energy-use efficiency • Waste and noise are signs of inefficiency • Many government programs encourage inefficiency

  9. OPPORTUNITY • Americans waste or cause the waste of one million pounds of materials/year • US Energy consumption in 2003: 98,156 Trillion Btu • Transportation 27% • Residential 22% • Commercial 18% • Industrial 33% • US Energy intensity Btu/$ of goods and services produced • 1970: 9130 Btu • 2003: 4320 Btu • About ½ of reduction is due to efficiency improvements • Rest is due to service economy and offshore manufacturing

  10. IS CONSERVATION A RATIONAL GOAL? • Jevon’s Paradox: as technological improvements increase the efficiency with which a resource is used the consumption of that resource may increase rather than decrease • Huber and Mills: “the virtue of waste”

  11. In what parts of the US are the opportunities greatest?

  12. What are the opportunities by sector?

  13. SECTORS • Agricultural/Food system • Industrial • Power generation/distribution

  14. FOOD • More than 15% of the energy used in the US goes to provide, process, and distribute food • Food processing, packaging and distribution 40% • Refrigeration and cooking 40% • Farming 20% (about ½ is for chemicals) • US Farms use about ten times the energy from fossil fuel that they return in food energy • There are many small opportunities e.g. crop drying, heat recovery, reuse farm wastes that can aggregate if widely employed

  15. INDUSTRIAL SECTOR • Economics driven conservation always operates—but not usually at the systems level • There are some commonalities but many programs are industry specific • All industries react to energy cost • Materials processing industries: steel, chemicals , glass use energy intensive raw materials

  16. DOE PROGRAMS EMPHASIS • Specific industries • Combined heat and power systems • Motors • Steam systems • Compressed air systems • Continuous fiber composites • Combustion • Sensors and controls

  17. ELECTRIC POWER • Generation efficiency • Transmission • Storage • Distribution • Control

  18. DOE PROGRAMS EMPHASES • Superconductivity • Energy storage • Demand management systems • Distributed generation • Electric industry restructuring • Electricity reliability

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