clair031

Summary .   A conference on energy efficiency in public buildings was held recently in Connecticut .   Energy efficiency retrofitting projects represent an accessible and achievable contribution to reducing the demand for energy used in heating, cooling and air conditioning.   Contrary to other public capital projects or infrastructure development, energy efficiency retrofits avoid the need for bond funding, since the savings from the energy not used provide a short payback period as well as a mechanism for alternative financing.   The savings can be as high as 25-30% per year, once a project is completed. Introduction .   A conference entitled “Leading by Example: Creating Jobs & Reducing Costs through Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings Across Connecticut” was convened on May 26, 2011 , sponsored by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation of Meriden , Connecticut . The rationales for holding the conference included ·        ...

Summary .   The U. S. National Academies has issued a report, America’s Climate Choices , assessing climate change and strongly recommending that steps be taken to address it.   These include a) substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions with great urgency, b) beginning societal efforts to adapt to global warming already under way, c) supporting research in climate change, d) developing new information systems useful to inform the public about this issue, and to actively involve the public in policy development, and e) coordinating our global warming initiatives with other efforts worldwide.   The report urges that iterative risk management, a repetitive cycle of policy development and implementation, be employed in these efforts.   It is urgent to begin these measures right away in order to avert even more serious consequences than have already happened. Introduction .   The global average temperature , measured over the long term, has been increasing sin...

[Note: This post is revised from the original version posted May 10, 2011 by the addition of the section on the article by Zhao and Running.] Summary .   Climate scientists model global climate trends showing varying regions of increased temperature in some regions, and increased rainfall or aridity in differing regions of the world.   Recently rigorous statistical analyses have shown that increased global temperatures are responsible for extreme rainfall and flooding events.   In May 2011 Lobell and coworkers showed that increased average global temperatures over the period 1980-2008 are responsible for decreased crop yields of the staple crops maize and wheat.   The resulting shortages lead to significant worldwide modeled increases in prices for these commodities.   This results in increased hardship for those populations of the world living at or near poverty.   This economic argument provides a strong incentive to develop new economic activity by inv...

Summary .   Wind energy plays a small but growing role in the world’s energy economy.   The European Union has the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emission by 80-95% by 2050.   China ’s 12 th Five Year Plan, covering 2011-2015, includes the goal of rapidly expanding its presently small wind generating capacity.   The United States , with no national energy policy currently in place, has several short term fiscal incentives to stimulate private development of renewable energy including wind energy. Introduction . The burning of fossil fuels is recognized as being a major contributor to the increase in man-made greenhouse gases accumulating in Earth’s atmosphere.   The United Nations-sponsored Intergovernmental Program on Climate C hange and other organizations conclude that the increase in greenhouse gases leads to warming of the average global temperature , which is predicted to produce several adverse consequences impacting our life on the planet. The wo...