A hopeful Friday note: a significant downloadable report (PDF) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. It was just brought to my attention, but it's from 2004. Its message bears repeating: energy efficiency/technologies have the potential to dramatically reduce energy use while supporting economic growth.
This European agency estimates that the E.U. could accommodate a 65 percent increase in energy services by 2050, yet simultaneously use two-thirds less energy than today. In the U.S., the estimate is that we could reduce energy demand to one-sixth of our use today through more efficient technologies.
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A Siegel Posted 6:07 am
16 Mar 2007
All we need to do is look at all of Amory Lovins work with an open eye and realize that we could greatly strenghten our society while using a fraction of the energy we do today.
And, some major companies get it. For example, Dupont, according to Chad Holliway, Dupont's Chief Executive Officer
in 1994, Dupont set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by the year 2000. They achieved that goal on schedule. Then Dupont set a goal to reduce its greenhouse emissions by 65 percent by 2010. They made that goal as well. In fact, they achieved a 72 percent reduction by 2004, six years ahead of schedule, and avoided costs of over $3 billion by holding Dupont's energy use six percent below 1990 levels.
Yet, too many think that there is a trade-off between the economy and the environment. Willing to trade a dying planet for another 1/10th of percent of GDP growth.
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