IS STRICT ENERGY CONSERVATION NECESSARY AND SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT BE INVOLVED? By: Lucas Amarose, Joshua Tisdel, Sara Justave and Britney Williams

WHAT IS ENERGY CONSERVATION? Energy conservation refers to reducing energy consumption through using less of an energy service Energy conservation differs from energy efficiency, which refers to using less energy for a constant service. These concepts are often confused with one another.

EXAMPLES OF ENERGY CONSERVATION Energy conservation is more than just electricity. There are over 100 ways to conserve energy falling under numerous categories. These categories range from: Electricity Roofing Heating and cooling Windows Water heating Appliance usage money/energy-saving-tips-calculators/100-tips.page? money/energy-saving-tips-calculators/100-tips.page

EXAMPLES CONT’D wpsICFbBm7Aod4zUAsA wpsICFbBm7Aod4zUAsA Residential Energy Services Network “Smart Home” is an interactive program.

VIEWPOINT ONE: STRICT ENERGY CONSERVATION IS NECESSARY

WHY ?  Saves money  Average household spends $5,500 annually on energy  Improves the economy  In 2010 created more than 830,000 jobs nationwide  Better for the environment  Less emissions / pollutants

WHY?  Improves national security  Decreases dependence on foreign nations  Enhances quality of life  Insulation keeps a.c. or heat inside  Reduces surface and ground water pollution  Less extraction of fossil fuels / coal

WHY?  Reduces the disruption of natural habitats (land / wildlife)  Resulting from equipment used in energy obtaining projects  Fewer opportunities for oil spilling and transportation

VIEWPOINT TWO: STRICT ENERGY CONSERVATION IS NOT NECESSARY

RELIABILITY OF SUPPLY  One shortcoming is that renewable energy relies heavily upon the weather for sources of supply: rain, wind, and sunshine.  In the event of weather that doesn’t produce these kinds of climate conditions renewable energy sources lack the capacity to make energy.  Since it may be difficult the generate the necessary energy due to the unpredictable weather patterns, we may need to reduce the amount of energy we use.

DIFFICULT TO GENERATE LARGE QUANTITY  Another disadvantage of renewable energy is that it is difficult to generate large amount of energy as those produced by coal powered plants.  This means that either we need to set up more such facilities to match up with the growing demand or look out for ways to reduce our energy consumption.

LARGE CAPITAL COST  Initial investments are quite high in case of building renewable energy plants.  These plants require upfront investments to build, have high maintenance expenses and require careful planning and implementation

LARGE TRACTS OF LAND REQUIRED  To meet up with the large quantities of electricity produced by fossil fuels, large amount of solar panels and wind farms need to be set up.  For this, large tracts of land is required to produce energy quantities competitive with fossil fuel burning.

COMPACT FLUORESCENT LIGHT BULBS  Disposal of the light bulbs are not convenient because the bulbs contain mercury.  Potential hazard if bulb breaks mercury could get in the air.  They are expensive.

SOLAR PANELS  Purchase price and installation cost.  No generation of power when it’s raining or snowing or when covered with snow.  Resources used in the manufacturing and distribution.  Some incentive programs have limiting funding and waitlist programs.  Visible lights.

WIND TURBINES  Purchase price and installation cost.  Resources used in the manufacture and distribution of wind turbines.  Visual blight.  Groupings of turbines might harm birds and bats.  Makes noise that sounds like a distant helicopter when it spins, whining noise when running slower.

DISADVANTAGES  The first disadvantage and probably the biggest one of energy conservation is nature itself.  Many organization decide to use alternative energy but then back out right away due to the high cost that they will bear.  Alternative energy is also hard to setup in structures already and most require brand new setup systems.  They are expensive in general they are more expensive then fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are readily available and can be used right on site while these alternative energy changes variously and needs a huge investment to produce any type of benefits.

OUR VIEWPOINT: STRICT ENERGY CONSERVATION IS NECESSARY

WHY?  Most of our energy sources are nonrenewable and will eventually deplete  Alternative energies are safer for the environment and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions  We can save money in the long run and reduce the stress and negative impacts we put on our environment  Even reducing energy consumption on an individual level would still be beneficial

 Second (and MUCH less popular) viewpoint – no, strict energy conservation is not necessary  Instead of people saying it’s not necessary, they instead say how do we go about it?  China’s “strict” energy conservation policy failed because there was a lack of balance, sustainability, and coordination

CHINA’S ENERGY CONSERVATION  Because China is the biggest consumer of energy and has the most greenhouse gas emissions, they have been under a strict 5 year energy conservation policy since March 2011  Oil conservation is the most important for them along with the pressure on people of using alternative energy sources  China aims to limit energy consumption in 2015 to four billion metric tons of coal or its equivalent in other fuels

 China’s first 5 year plan that ended in 2009 was unsuccessful  They were still unsure of how to even go about their new policy and their was much anxiety in China

IPCC= intergovernmental panel on climate change

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT BE INVOLVED?

GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT EPA’s “Green Communities” ideas. The GBA or “Green Building Alliance” A Pittsburgh based non-profit organization Trying to find better alternative fuels, that last longer. Alternative fuels aren’t just for vehicles but for operating machines. Alternative fuels can also refer to solar, wind, and any other way of producing energy.

HELPFUL GOVERNMENT ANSWERS Lowering the prices “Energy is not some magical good that is fundamentally different from other goods or services.”- Craig Pirrong Possible tax incentives

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