EnergyRealist

A few weeks back I went to a seminar organized around a German “Das Haus” exhibit.  It features passive house approaches and technology.

For me it’s just moving too slowly.  It’s wealthy enthusiasts, or enthusiastic do-it-yourselfers, driving the move to net-zero energy.  Of course I’m oversimplifying but it’s the impression I’m left with.  A description of rebuilding a Brooklyn brownstone to passive house standards was fascinating, but something only a very wealthy person could afford.  And one representative for some remarkable sealing tapes lamented that the market was driven by price rather than quality and durability.

A presentation by Kim Curran, Center for Sustainable Energy, Bronx Community College) included this slide, which I think is rather powerful (Thanks to Dr. Richard Perez for permission to use the slide, more explanation here.  The message surely has to be that we must go renewable eventually.

Natural gas, the “new” miracle fuel has to be just a stop gap, or a fuel to even out fluctuations in renewable supply.  Not in my lifetime I guess…

In the real world we have been kept busy doing energy audits in neighborhoods where new natural gas lines are coming down the street.  Going from oil, propane or electricity to natural gas is attractive by itself – much cheaper per BTU.  Combine that with incentives for making the house more energy efficient and installing high efficiency heating, cooling and hot water units and the proposition becomes self-evident.  And yet less than half the people in a street get the gas line, even less go for the energy audit.

Is it the word “audit” that turns people off?  We’ve done ourselves a disservice to let the term become so entrenched.  Assessment or Appraisal would be so much better, all “A” words…

Speaking of natural gas and renewables gets us to politics and into this frustrating election campaign (you get enough of it I’m sure – here is my breakfast reading).  It’s not going to happen, but it would be great if someone, on either side, would start talking in ideas, have a vision, and provide some direction instead of throwing out all the usual platitudes of greatness, freedom, security, independence and so forth.

How about a plan to bring all power lines underground in 50 years?  How about replacing every school bus by safe, comfortable electric buses in 30 years?  Naw – next quarter is what counts.  (Why would you put power underground?  Safety, Continuity (no massive blackouts every time a tree falls over), no NIMBY reaction because of appearance, health concerns etc., not to even mention the improvement in general happiness and well being once those poles and wires have disappeared from the skyline) 

Here’s another idea slide, 3 steps we need to take; individually, community, nation – pretty simple to remember (also from the Das Haus seminar, but I can’t remember who presented it).  And once the entrenched propaganda is taken away, I’m sure there is a very good economic growth story to be built around this as well.  I guess that’s the next small issue I need to tackle.

3 steps - 2 today, 1 in the next few years

Until then, yours realistically