Federal Efficiency Initiative – As I think I’ve noted before, DOE and EPA have often struggled mightily against political headwinds and still managed to get some heroic work done. (They’ve also, to be sure, caved, on more than a few occasions over the years, to pressure from on high, abdicating their responsibilities. See under “California Standards” here for example.)
On a most positive note, DOE’s weekly newsletter “EERE Network News” reports DOE and EPA Release an Energy Efficiency Action Plan for States. “If implemented by all states, the plan could lower energy demand across the country by 50% ” Pas mal, n’est-ce pas?! See EPA’s webpage on the “National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency” for more.
By the way, I’m reading a great book now, Energy in America – A Tour of Our Fossil Fuel Culture and Beyond, by Ingrid Kelley. The book reminds us that we’ve come a very long way indeed in this country on energy efficiency since the Arab Oil shock of 1973 and the ensuing federal and state initiatives to improve our performance in this key area. We have, of course, miles to go before we sleep.
Urban Heat – I love geothermal. What’s not to love? See “Drill, Baby, Drill 2.0” most recently, among many other references at the blog.
I am going to let my friend, Michael Vickerman, director of the highly effective RENEW Wisconsin, jump in here on a great “NY Times” story from last week:
“There were two excellent articles this week on a very ambitious ground-source heat pump system serving General Theological Seminary. The later article delves into the regulatory headaches encountered by the engineering firms–agencies with overlapping authority, no single point of contact, etc.). If any institution can plan for seven generations, it’s General Theological Seminary.” See the articles here and here.
John Petrarca, an architect in NYC, designed a geothermal townhouse a few years back. See the story from “Natural Home” magazine. See also Do Geothermal Heat Pumps Have Mainstream Potential? (including the comments) from RenewableEnergyWorld and the informative DOE webpage on heat pumps.
So, architects and developers! Let’s get on it.
There’s No Business Like Show Business – NYC’s Great White Way is going green, from “Crain’s NY Business,” notes “Ten theaters already have replaced some 10,000 bulbs with more energy-efficient ones. And within the next 12 months, all of Broadway’s theaters will have made the switch.” In the press release from the Broadway League, we also learn that several serious commitments are being made, among them a high degree of information sharing among shows about what works.
Not surprisingly, the League has brought in NRDC for its considerable expertise. See also the “Broadway Goes Green” website for more information and links to other initiatives like London’s green theatre plan and some fascinating websites.
