The New American Frontier of Prosperity and Hope- Energy Efficiency

We face a host of challenges around our planet’s future prosperity.  One key is how we view resources and our role in conserving them. For example China's solar production replaced 10 large power plants last year and their development will replace 25 plants in the next few years.  While our global economic downturn has lessened carbon use on one hand our growth is not.

What is our new model for growth on this crowded and polluted planet?  For example California, has the 9th largest economy in the world and the first State to address climate change. The 10 largest countries generate 70 percent of our greenhouse gases. India is the 2nd largest coal burning with 455 proposed new plants. Who is going to plant the seeds for change?

How can we Americans best prepare for climate change from an economic, social and cultural perspective? Water, food and national security are all reasons we Americans can invest in new jobs to address new energy and sustainable technical development.

Now that most scientist think climate change is cause by humans and threatens future human health it is time this country best invest in lessening this problem.  Regardless of what China, India and other developing countries do our future hope and prosperity is dependent on addressing this challenge.

A national energy policy promoting sustainable growth can balance both price and cost securing future energy efficiency.  Let’s better generated and consume our energy.

Taking inventory of today’s U.S. energy demand consists of 85% fossil fuels or about 50 million barrels of oil consumed each day in America. While the exploration of natural gas has done much to ease our energy imports such factors as price of extracting this resource requires greater environmental controls.

Approximately, 61% of energy produced is lost due to factors such as poor insulation, inefficient gas guzzling vehicles and other reasons. This translates to an overall efficiency of 13% for oil that is converted to a usable form. Another way to illustrate this is that only one of three barrels is recovered. We can certainly conserve more and waste less.  Unless we place a price and cost on inefficiency we will continue to subsidize this hazardous waste of dollars, resources and health impacts.

For over a century Americans have greatly benefited from cheap energy.  Now the question is how we price and cost our fuel resources to best conserve them given our future economic situation. It is time we efficiently invest in our energy, security, health and environment. The future will reveal the true costs and expense of not conserving unless we wisely act. Let’s profit from preventing waste by fully investing in energy efficiency as a new frontier for prosperity and American hope.


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