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Conservation

Source: EIA The ups and downs of our energy use reflects the economic climate. Note that we are no longer producing enough fuel to power our economy and so import more. Notice too that the imports are growing (mostly crude oil).

If you live on campus you would have seen OPP (Office of Physical Plant) driving about with the slogan "bright students dim the lights" on the side of the trucks. If we conserve, we use less energy, if we use less energy we use less fuel, if we use less fuel then there is less pollution (particulates, NO_x, mercury, SO₂, CO) and if we consider CO₂ a pollutant (many do not) then we can have a slower pace of climate change. As we are using more and more energy each year conservation tends not to be a reduction in the quantity of energy we used but rather a reduction in the growth of energy that we use each year. We can achieve a reduction of energy if we enter a significant depression, (look at the dates) and we can use less energy is the weather is kind (warmer winters and cooler summers).

Bottom line we can conserve but we can not conserve our way out of the problem unless we do far more, and change our behavior radically. Not very likely to happen.

Source: JPM By sleeping the computer reduces the energy it is using. It is far more reliable than me remembering to turn off the monitor! Technology will be very important if we are to conserve more.

Technology can also help us conserve energy. Sensors can detect if there is anyone in the room. Computers “spin down their disks” or dim the monitor to save energy. The image below is the Energy Conservation screen from my laptop computer (where I am writing this). For a laptop the issue of conservation is very important (as it directly relates to battery life). Some of the new generation of computer chips for laptops will actually slow their clock speed when not connected to the mains to prolong mobility from the cord.

Here are some conservation tips that you can do:

• Shower instead of taking a bath (I would not abdicate cutting the shower out)
• Shower with a friend (good clean fun). A shower uses less water than a bath and unless you take cold showers then you save on hot water and thus energy (not to mention water).
• Purchase energy efficient devices, natural gas furnaces, and lighting.
• Turn off unnecessary lights etc.

Efficiencies

Source:JPM My imported rental car and my father-in-law's ancient American beast of burden.

That SUV is not very efficient. The model T ford managed 12 mpg, and SUV might make 24 mpg, not a major improvement in over 100 years. Especially when other countries are driving vehicles which obtain 60 mpg. We are not going to stay home to drive less, (the average American car will drive 15,000 miles each year), so an efficient vehicle will result in a lot less CO₂. The age of the vehicle has an impact as we are tending to get better (but slowly) at efficiencies. Fortunately, we have much greater sucess with the other pollutants through technologies such as the catalytic convertor. For carbon dioxide emissions to be reduced from personal vehicles efficiencies need to be improved.

Source: EIA

This is all discussed in Unit I. If you do not recall the material, go and take a look at it again.See a Smart Car!