The drive for energy efficiency and alternate sources of energy have every business and Government searching to level the differential between the COE ( cost of energy ) of fossil ( typically Coal) Vs the new clean and green forms .. maily wind and solar.. 2 websites consolidate tax incentives and grants from both federal and state sources.
www.dsireusa.org
www.energytaxincentive.org
Showing posts with label energy efficiency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label energy efficiency. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
2CO2 to H2O: The limits of business as usual
In "Common Wealth", Jeffery Sachs's book on sustainability, the concept of the concentration of CO2 in the air is very well explained. The base case (1960) of about 260 ppm and the current 380 ppm implies a business as usual rate that will get us to twice the 1960s concentration ( 560ppm) in 2100. But several other factors are accelerating the concentration and cut the time down by about 50 years. So in 2 generations, the concentration will double. At 2CO2, the planet is in a catastrophic failed state. Ouch!
Changing weather patterns, impact rain and river flow, while de-salination appears to be the easy way out, changing salt water into drinking water is expensive.. the vast amount of energy needed will keep this technology for the rich. Limiting global pervasive use to have any worldwide effect that is needed in the context of the climate change crisis. Additionally, cities inland will have to pump the water from the sea exacerbating the energy crisis ( CO2 emissions )
So the solutions need to be very energy efficient. Use less water and reuse water. Agriculture needs to get dramatically "water efficient" ( the #1 water user in the world - 65% on a global basis )
As Sachs puts it .. "more crop per drop"
Meanwhile, Water efficient companies are tracking their water footprint) It's becoming as important as "Carbon Footprint" and companies are measuring this. In a related twist, Pepsi, a large water consumer/seller , has an initiative to support the H2O Africa Initiative for sustainable water practices. Coke measures itself against sustainability goals, planning to clean and return all the waste water it generates to the environment, by 2010.
For every Liter of Coke sold, 2.47 Liters of water are used. This was about 3 Liters in 2003.
In conclusion, at the global level, GHC/Climate change is creating an expanding water crisis and at the consumer level, water footprint and carbon footprint are driving brand equity. Making efficient use of water a smart business proposition.
Changing weather patterns, impact rain and river flow, while de-salination appears to be the easy way out, changing salt water into drinking water is expensive.. the vast amount of energy needed will keep this technology for the rich. Limiting global pervasive use to have any worldwide effect that is needed in the context of the climate change crisis. Additionally, cities inland will have to pump the water from the sea exacerbating the energy crisis ( CO2 emissions )
So the solutions need to be very energy efficient. Use less water and reuse water. Agriculture needs to get dramatically "water efficient" ( the #1 water user in the world - 65% on a global basis )
As Sachs puts it .. "more crop per drop"
Meanwhile, Water efficient companies are tracking their water footprint) It's becoming as important as "Carbon Footprint" and companies are measuring this. In a related twist, Pepsi, a large water consumer/seller , has an initiative to support the H2O Africa Initiative for sustainable water practices. Coke measures itself against sustainability goals, planning to clean and return all the waste water it generates to the environment, by 2010.
For every Liter of Coke sold, 2.47 Liters of water are used. This was about 3 Liters in 2003.
In conclusion, at the global level, GHC/Climate change is creating an expanding water crisis and at the consumer level, water footprint and carbon footprint are driving brand equity. Making efficient use of water a smart business proposition.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Water, Waste & Energy
Today is my first blog, I have been reading about energy efficiency at the oil endgame website . you can download a free summary.
http://www.oilendgame.com/pdfs/WtOEg_ExecSummary.pdf
It's an interesting hypothesis that improvements in energy efficiency can eliminate a good deal of waste and once it's adopted on a massive scale, will cause demand of oil to weaken and therefore price.
In the area of water and waste water, about 70% of the electricity in a waste water plant is consumed in the aeration of waste water. Oxygenated waste is broken down by bacteria to eliminate organic matter in the waste water. Therefore getting even a 10% efficiency in the performance of aeration will result in significant savings of energy.
http://www.oilendgame.com/pdfs/WtOEg_ExecSummary.pdf
It's an interesting hypothesis that improvements in energy efficiency can eliminate a good deal of waste and once it's adopted on a massive scale, will cause demand of oil to weaken and therefore price.
In the area of water and waste water, about 70% of the electricity in a waste water plant is consumed in the aeration of waste water. Oxygenated waste is broken down by bacteria to eliminate organic matter in the waste water. Therefore getting even a 10% efficiency in the performance of aeration will result in significant savings of energy.
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