The first LEED platinum building in America, in Annapolis, Maryland.
A recent
list of ten things the US need do to make us more energy independent shows some promise if our learning how life is evolving in the US. This is a viewpoint of the paper but is worth reading. It is more than turning off the lights or computers (those DO count though). We are developing a new philosophy, and this coming from Houston!
So here they are. What do you think?
1. Most of the oil consumed in the United States is for transportation. Congress recently raised fleet mileage (CAFE) standards to 35 miles per gallon. The mileage standard must continue to rise as swiftly as new technologies and concern for passenger safety allow.
2. Scholars and industry executives now agree that demand for oil will exceed supply in the next few years. U.S. energy needs demand that government and industry engage in a program to develop alternative energy sources — wind, solar and hydrogen, to name a few — that would rival the scale and national commitment of Project Apollo’s missions to the moon. Houston remains the world capital of energy technology and, as with the space program, is primed to play a major role in producing tomorrow’s energy.
3. The lead time for developing new energy sources will leave the United States dependent on the oil and gas industry for years, probably decades, to come. Industry should not be hobbled by a windfall profits tax that would only discourage exploration and production, limit supply and drive up consumer prices. Also, industry needs greater access to domestic oil reserves in the Arctic and off the East and West coasts. There is no reason why the western Gulf of Mexico and its adjoining states should solely bear the burden of supplying the nation with oil and gas pumped from beneath the sea.
4. Government has already raised efficiency standards for home appliances, but Americans need to voluntarily adopt conservation measures — both as a personal virtue, as Vice President Dick Cheney put it, and as a strategy to curb energy prices. And when buying a house, Americans should calculate commuting costs. The numbers might persuade homeowners to buy a smaller house closer to work, saving money and putting the hours spent driving to more rewarding use. Government, for its part, must provide urban commuters attractive mass transit alternatives, including a robust system of zero-emission light rail in Houston.
5. The U.S. nuclear energy industry has proved itself to be safe, reliable and free of toxic emissions. New technologies make plants more efficient and easier to build and operate. Environmental concerns dictate that nuclear power play a larger role. However, full exploitation of nuclear power plants demands that the government quickly provide a safe site for the disposal of radioactive waste.
6. Although China threatens to overtake us, the United States remains the largest producer of greenhouse gases. A carbon tax or cap-and-trade system is the best means to decrease emissions without putting industry in a straitjacket. A carbon tax could finance mass transit and alternative energy research; a cap-and-trade system is likely to benefit Houston, with its long experience with energy trading.
7. The United States gets most of its electricity from burning coal. The U.S. government must revive its research into carbon sequestration so the country can safely continue to utilize this abundant resource.
8. States such as Texas, the nation's leading producer of energy from wind, need to invest in adequate transmission capacity to get clean, green electricity from the wind farms to the cities.
9. Congress must stop mandating use of ethanol made from corn as a motor fuel. The net gain in energy is small, while the demand for corn disrupts food markets and needlessly raises prices at the grocery store. When ethanol from more efficient sources such as sugar cane and switch grass becomes profitable on a large scale, then ethanol can play a constructive role and lower U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
10. So-called green buildings are gaining in popularity, both because of their energy and cost savings and their aesthetic appeal. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System should be incorporated into local building codes whereever reasonable.
