Five Percent: Conserve a Little Energy

The Economist recently published an excellent article titled Energy efficiency, The elusive negawatt. Example after example show ways that there is a huge opportunity to take advantage of latent energy efficiencies. The article shows how programs and efforts have been successful at decreasing energy consumption in many effective and profitable ways. It quotes analysts who predict that between 50% to 66% of needed greenhouse gas reductions could be averted through efficiency gains.

But the teaser tells the tale of where the article will end up (hint: not where I would have) (more…)

“The single most important thing we can do is …”. Drive less? Conserve? Change a light bulb? Eat vegetables? Invest in technology for new forms of energy? Cap and trade? Install solar panels? Gas tax holiday? Save the polar bear? Which one is best? Which has the biggest impact?

I say “none of the above”. The single biggest thing we can do is anything … now.

The change you do make is the one that has actual value. The ones you don’t make are just vapor. (more…)

Eat plants, says Mark Bittman. This is a very rational discussion on how we have gradually turned ourselves into a nation eating nothing but junk. The impact on carbon footprint is staggering.

From the TEDBlog, I highly recommend this video.

Today was National Bike to Work Day.

I encountered fewer riders today than most days.

The forecast this morning was “chance of rain”. It was warm and dry this morning. There was a fine mist this afternoon. That appears to have been enough to prevent most people who might have ridden otherwise from using pedal power. I rode to work on the three days I worked away from home this week. All were delightful rides. My legs are stronger. My weight is lower (or, perhaps I just feel less guilty about having a nice, tasty meal). I am healthier. I used 0 gallons of gas.

Today’s turnout was very disappointing. Can we make no effort, even the slightest, to bring change in our habits, behaviors, and ways? Are we so stuck in our automotive ways that a dark cloud can prevent us from making an extra effort? Is bicycling so fringe, so radical, so impractical that almost no one can actually do it?

Good lord. We’re screwed.

There’s a kind of plastic packaging that I have injured myself with several times. This is intentional on the part of marketers — when packaged for retail, shoplifting is much harder.

But I buy a lot of stuff online. (In fact, I get a sick feeling in my stomach when I enter almost any big-box retail store. They never have what I need, they try to sell me junk I don’t need, and I occasionally settle for an inferior alternative to what I want out of frustration.) Why can’t the five percent of items needed for retail display be packaged in this way, and the rest be packaged efficiently? (more…)

Ridership on public transit has increased. Gas prices rise, and people react by taking more public transit. In recent posts, I have argued that economics does not work.

Based on today’s New York Times article reporting gas prices and public transit are related, you might think I would recant my position.

Nope. While this is an encouraging change, simple supply and demand curves based on gas prices just don’t work. (more…)

The big news in Cambridge yesterday was a rather dramatic fire resulting from a failure of the electrical system. This picture is several blocks from my office.

But a less dramatic and exciting electricity related item arrived from Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) this morning. They are part of the Cambridge Energy Alliance (CEA) which was formed after announcing their goal to reduce electricity demand by 50 megawatts over five years.
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Sure it costs a little more, but isn’t it worth it? Our local Boston electric utility, NStar has announced that they will offer options for homeowners to get their electricity from wind power. I signed up, and they say the cost will be an average of $4 to $7 per month. You have the option to get 50% or 100% of your electricity from wind power.

This is the cost of a fancy coffee or a movie rental (or soon, a gallon of gas!). Seems like a bargain to me. (more…)