There are two main reasons why today's
patterns of energy use cannot be sustained over the long term:
Non-renewable energy sources: Most of the energy people use
comes from making withdrawals from a savings account of fossil
fuels which took millions of years to build up, and which will
eventually run out.
Climate change & toxic buildup: Many of the energy-conversion
technologies rely upon generate waste products which may
lead to climate change, are toxic, or both. This will leave behind
an atmosphere laden with ozone-layer-destroying gasses, and
chemical or nuclear waste dumps.
 Society will have reached sustainability in energy when it is
living on the energy budget set by the natural supply of solar
energy (harvested directly as sunlight converted to heat or
electricity, or indirectly through wind, water or vegetation
converted to fuel).
It might be argued that the first problem, finite fossil fuel
resources, can be left to later generations, who will convert to
sustainable sources when fossil fuels run out. Yet, even if our
reserves of fossil fuels were infinite, the second part of the
problem, climate change and toxic releases, would force a move away
from fossil fuels and towards sustainable energy resources.
Fossil
fuels would not be quite so cheap as they are today if the bill for
the environmental and health problems they generate were included in
the price. While an understanding of the potentially costliest
problems of all global warming, depletion of the ozone layer,
and the breakdown of living systems due to the buildup of toxics
are still at an early stage, in the decade it may take to accumulate
definitive and accurate ways of assessing the true costs of fossil
fuel use, irreparable damage may be done.
 One way to address the needed change is to increase people's energy
bills to pay for more expensive renewable sources. However, there is
an alternative. By improving the efficiency with which energy is
used, energy bills can be held steady or even lowered, even if the
rate charged for each increment of power goes up.
Energy efficiency
doesn't just mean more efficient conversion of energy to use (for
example, a new light bulb which gives the same amount of light for
half the power input); it also means only using power where and when
it's really needed (for example, using automated sensors to turn on
only the lights that are needed at the time).
While it is often cheaper to increase the pool of available energy
through investing in energy efficiency than by building a power
plant, to date, the action of the marketplace has not automatically
led to this choice. Among the complicating factors:
Energy cost-accounting conventions are very different between
building developers (who make decisions on efficiency of design)
and power-plant operators (who produce the power);
There are few incentives in the commercial building industry for
energy efficiency because the firm that builds the building is
seldom the one which ultimately pays the utility bills; and
If pay-back on the cost of a major energy-efficient appliance is
more than two or three years, homeowners who anticipate selling
their homes run a risk of losing their investments, since the
appliance cost has little influence on the sales price.
Energy use has an impact on air quality, and the use of
hydroelectric power has an impact on riparian (streamside) habitat
and fish populations.
Overcoming these barriers will create an economic bonus. By
investing in energy efficiency rather than energy generating
capacity. The City has a role to play through incentives and other
programs, helping overcome the imperfections in the market that lead
to energy waste.
The energy-specific goals set out in the sustainability strategy
support several basic principles of sustainable systems which apply
to all aspects of our society. Everything living has an important
role to play in the balance in which all species thrive. In our
society, the energy system has purpose only if the society thrives.
Therefore, all members of our culture must be valued. Specifically,
this can mean supporting measures which provide everyone a job at a
livable wage. Within the context of energy this means providing
affordable energy services for everyone. The energy aspect of that
support has been expressed in the following principles:
- Ensure that basic energy services are available to all
residents
- Promote local employment and local economic development
- Promote local, democratic participation and control of energy
policy
- Pursue approaches that maintain the City's diversity and share
the burdens of the energy system fairly among neighbors and
- Promote an energy system that is reliable in times of natural
or man-made disruptions by emphasizing diverse, small-scale energy
sources, storage, and distribution methods.
Source: http://www.sustainable-city.org/ |
