Energy Efficiency Issues - Essay Example

Running head: ENERGY EFFICIENCY Energy Efficiency Affiliation. Energy Efficiency Issues Problem: Over the past few decades, there has been increasing concern demonstrated for energy conservation. All Generation X adults can remember, as schoolchildren, learning about energy conservation and being asked to complete assignments that revolved around this. There has been a strong shift of focus on global warming since Al Gore's campaign and documentary came into the public limelight. However, it must be recognized that while much of the hope for reducing global warming comes with the use of alternate energies, what the world should, in fact, be focusing on is a simpler strategy: actually using less energy. If less energy is used, then the world will see a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (Ottinger, 2002). "The cheapest, cleanest energy is the energy you don't use," said Jenny Powers of the Natural Resources Defense Council (qtd. In Schirber, 2008). While the concept does seem simple enough, it is up to the individuals and the companies that are using the most energy to start revising their approaches. Whether or not they take any steps to help the environment is entirely up to them. However, there are also cost incentives to cutting back on the use of energy. Using less energy means a smaller energy bill. Therefore, some companies may be more willing to consider this type of revision if the focus on monetary issues is stressed. Nonliving and living factors that contribute to or are affected by the problem Who is affected by this problem of energy efficiency There are both living and nonliving factors to take into account here. First, the living factors include the people of the world, who are all affected by, and also use, energy. Nonliving entities that are affected by this are mainly the corporations and companies that use energy. Some explanation about the history of this problem is needed to explain this issue..The concept of energy conservation is not a new one, and it has been on the table for some time. However, it has evolved in the public imagination throughout the years, and its importance has also evolved as well. Different presidents, for instance, have focused on energy conservation and brought its concerns to the forefront, while others have not seen it as that much of an important issue. It must be remembered that may presidents have different priorities (Sawhill, 1986). Our new president, however, has put a strong emphasis on various energy conservation strategies, so once again, we are seeing the media focus on this concept more and more. Therefore, people are becoming more focused on using the term "energy efficiency" to focus on the fact that we should be doing more with less energy (Schriber, 2008). Technology seems to be helping us pave the way toward that hope. A global management consulting firm called McKinney and Company recently reported that the world could cut its energy demand in half by using just a few certain strategies. This provides a strong feeling of hope in the world, and most individuals do feel that if they just do a few things and follow a few plans, they may be able to help the environment. For instance, many individuals have gone with the use of fluorescent lighting in their houses, cutting down wattage usage. Thus, energy is saved, but the electric bill also becomes much less for the individual. If all individuals did this, and if all companies did this, a large amount of energy could be saved. However, this is just one example of what both individuals and companies could do. There are several more things that could be considered and put easily into use, and it could drastically cut down the use of energy in the world (Schriber, 2008. Positive and negative human impacts - According to Shirber (2008): "The world consumed 422 quads of energy in 2003 (a quad is a quadrillion BTUs, or the energy in 180 million barrels of oil). The United States alone used 92 quads in the same year, making it the largest single energy consumer. " There is a further prediction that the world's consumption will only be increasing by around 2.2 percent annually. This means it will total around 613 quads by 2020. If the world could only move to using more efficient energy ideas, it would not have to see its energy consumption shoot up in to this high figure (Schriber, 2008). It seems, therefore, that if something is not done soon, we are all on the path, as a world community, to using more and more energy. This is certainly not a good pattern, especially when the technology does exist today to cut back on energy use. There is no reason why companies and individuals cannot put this technology into use. Furthermore, most of these cuts should not be economically harmful to countries and individuals (Sawhill, 1986). Many of the energy conserving ideas actually eventually pay for themselves in a few years. The true problem is that many organizations and individuals have no idea that they are, in fact, wasting so much energy. The key here, therefore, is increased education, something that Al Gore certainly would agree with. The hope is that the monetary savings will inspire both individuals and companies to transfer their focus on energy efficient concepts. As mentioned earlier, many of these concepts would be quite easy for people to use, and the fact that they would save both money and energy is a win-win situation. A plan to reach sustainability If a company does want to focus on reducing energy efficiency, what can it do There are a few methods a company can pursue. A few programs exist to help promote education. For instance, there is a program called "Save Energy Now," which is an offshoot of the Department of Energy. "Save Energy Now" gives out green energy reviews to large, energy-consuming plants and organizations. To date, they have helped more than 300 plants and organizations and pointed out around $600 million in energy reduction benefits (Schriber, 2008). This equals around 5.1 million tons of prevented CO2 emissions. "This is why we are focusing on the largest consumers," said program manager Bob Gemmer. "The cost saving is a number you can get your arms around." (Qtd. In Schriber, 2008). What does "Save Energy Now" focus on when it visits these plants and companies First, they look for fire-heating equipment and steam systems. Combining these two factors usually total to around seventy percent of energy use in industry (Schriber, 2008). The Department of Energy has suggested several efficiency improvements, which includes adding proper insulation, as well as using power and heat systems that can also use wasted heat to contribute electricity (Parker & Sawhill, 2006).. There is no law or group that is forcing the companies to make these changes, however. The changes are merely put on the table, and whether or not the company does anything about it is solely up to the company. It is true that if the company decided to follow the concepts presented, they would not only help the environment, but also cut back on their own energy bills. However, whether these incentives are enough for these companies to do anything about this still remains to be seen. Some companies have followed the list and made required revisions, while others have not. However, if companies did focus and really try to cut energy costs, they might be able to reduce some of their energy bills by 50% (Shriber, 2008). Again, though, this is all clearly a decision of the company. Individuals also need to take action in order to save energy and bring down their own energy bills. It has been noted that business uses about 46 percent of energy consumption, but individual homes also use a large amount of energy (Schriber, 2008). This is especially true of western countries, which are known to have more money (and therefore spend more, which also causes them to be a bit more wasteful). "Consumers are increasingly the driving force of energy consumption as the world economy has shifted away from industry and toward less energy-intensive service industries," according to the McKinsey report (qtd. In Shriber, 2008). For example, China, because it is so large, could sum up one third of the future energy demand. As China grows and becomes wealthier, its middle class seeks out more and more technologically innovative materials-which also means that they use more and more energy as well (Parker & Sawhill, 2006).. Individuals in their private homes do have a very big part to play as far as energy reduction is concerned. They can do things in their homes like insulate their houses, get more energy efficient windows, use fluorescent lighting, and purchase high efficiency water heaters. All of these items described here are relatively new technology, so it would require the individual to make an initial investment. For example, fluorescent light bulbs are certainly not cheap, and cost much more than an ordinary light bulb. However, they do last longer; much longer, in fact. Most have a life span as long as seven years. Furthermore, they also use far less energy than a regular light bulb. So, if the individual is willing to put the initial money down, he or she would be rewarded over the long run. Still, this is sometimes a hard decision for those struggling in today's society. If all individuals and all companies were to use energy efficient means in their households and places of business, the world would actually be able to cut back its use of energy, rather than increasing it by 2.2% every year. Benefits and challenges of the plan This brings us to the benefits and challenges of the plan. Some have already been mentioned, but this section will provide a general overview of the current issues. First, perhaps the biggest problem is that there is no body to enforce any use of energy efficient concepts. If there were, it would be much easier to enforce the use of energy efficient equipment. Right now, this is all a matter of choice, and for the most part, most individuals and companies are not even aware of the problems they are causing for the environment. Therefore, it would be important to, in the future, make some kind of governing body that could oversee this. Furthermore, education is also an issue (Parker & Sawhill, 2006).. The world does not seem to be very educated about environmental problems and issues that correspond with energy conservation. We can tell this because few people seem to understand that using environmental technology would actually save them money in the long run, while helping the environment. However, many of these individuals have not been told the benefits to themselves, which would include monetary benefits. The current state of the economy is also a problem. Many people are currently struggling with money as it is, as many individuals are out of work or taking pay cuts with the hopes of keeping their jobs. Therefore, the investment it takes to buy the energy efficient products could be a problem, even if they do eventually save money later. Many people are not looking for this at this time. With so much fear about the economy, many issues about the environment tend to get pushed to the side. Required government, societal, and global support Much support would be needed to inspire individuals to use energy efficient materials. This would include, hopefully, some kind of governmental institution to oversee all of this and especially at least focusing on companies that use the largest amounts of energy. If they can be helped first, energy efficiency can come about rather quickly. Furthermore, as mentioned above, education of individuals is a key factor here. The more educated individuals are about this situation, the more likely they will be to act. This may require the government to get more involved and also provide some energy efficient products to people for free, especially because of the state of the economy. For instance, they could provide fluorescent lighting for free to those that want to use it. This would inspire those who do not have the funds at this point to become more involved in the energy efficient movement. References Ottinger, R. L., & Williams, R. (2002). Renewable Energy Sources for Development. Environmental Law, 32(2), 331+. Retrieved June 18, 2009, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qsta=o&d=5000778559 Parker, P., Rowlands, I. H., & Scott, D. (2003). Innovations to Reduce Residential Energy Use and Carbon Emissions: An Integrated Approach. The Canadian Geographer, 47(2), 169+. Retrieved June 18, 2009, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qsta=o&d=5002552385 Sawhill, J. C. & Cotton, R. (Eds.). (1986). Energy Conservation: Successes and Failures. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. Retrieved June 18, 2009, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qsta=o&d=34155416 Schriber, M. (2008). "Whatever Happened to Energy Conservation" Retrieved June 18, 2009, from http://www.livescience.com/environment/080102-energy-conservation.html References Read More