Report Says Money Spent on Efficiency Helps the Economy
A new report says efficiency measures by the government, utilities and the average citizen could pump billions of dollars into the U.S. economy.
Researchers at Environment Northeast - a non-profit organization - say money spent on efficiency programs can pump $6 to $8.50 into the economy for every $1 spent.
The report - “Energy Efficiency: Engine of Economic Growth” - found that large-scale investments in energy efficiency can bring about dramatic increases in state productivity, household income and job creation.
“High energy costs and the threat of climate change have catapulted energy to the forefront of energy policy reform, and ENE’s analysis makes it clear that energy efficiency is a priority strategy for energy security, economic growth and environmental sustainability at the state and national levels,” said ENE Executive Director, Dan Sosland.
The report also says if $27 billion were spent in New England on efficiency programs over the next 15 years, $180 billion would be reinvested in local economies as a result - this, according to the report, would create almost 40,000 jobs.
About this story
Related Keywords: Politics (Environment), Energy Efficiency (Electric Grid), Electric Grid, Environment, Clean Skies News, Clean Skies News, Dan Sosland, economy, ENE, Environment Northeast, New England, report
Source:
Clean Skies News
Now on Clean Skies
Top Stories
CS Sunday: Top Kill, Final Kill?
28:29 | 08/08/10
California's Power Struggle Over Renewable Energy Lines
06:58 | 08/02/10
RES Lacking in a Senate Energy Bill
05:35 | 08/02/10Related Items
Energy Ministerial Energizes Clean Tech Research
Energy Ministerial focuses on energy efficiency.
- 02:40
- 07/27/10
Exonerated Climategate Professor Speaks Out
The embattled Michael Mann discusses investigations that have cleared his name.
- 10:51
- 07/08/10
Buildings Go Green for Energy Efficiency
Following oil spill, increased urgency to move to cleaner energies has businesses looking increasingly toward "green" buildings.
- 06:13
- 06/22/10
World Climate Discussions Focus on Funding
As Copenhagen Accord talks continue, money remains the biggest issue in agreements.
- 05:31
- 06/14/10
To preserve middle class jobs
To preserve middle class jobs and American quality of life we should simultaneously pursue efficiency in energy use while increasing the use of energy while producing American industrial products. American workers are the most productive on the planet while using the highest amounts of energy per worker. This is not a coincidence.
It is fine to reduce energy waste but we should strive to increase (not decrease) energy use per worker in manufacturing. Use of advanced manufacturing equipment and energy amplify worker's efforts. Misguided efforts to reduce energy use per worker will only cause middle class America workers to directly compete in real wages with foreign workers who have similar use of energy and use similar manufacturing equipment. Do you really want to get in a world-wide wage competition with Chinese and Indian workers who offer their labor for 1/4 or less the real wages of American workers?
Poor energy policies and goals to reduce the energy used per worker in manufacturing will cause real American wages to sink back into the pack of wages paid by our foreign Asian competition. Do you really want to bring home a paycheck 1/4 the real value of the paycheck that you brought home a few short years ago?
We currently live in a competitive world economy where goods are made where they can be manufactured for the lowest overall cost when all factors that comprise the cost of manufacturing are considered. This includes the costs of labor, energy, office space, materials, shop space, and the costs of transporting finished products to market. America can pay its workers more money in wages than the Asian industrial competition if the other costs of manufacturing, including the cost of energy, are lower. If all costs, including wages, are higher than the industrial competition you will not be able to sustainably manufacture in America.
We should strive to produce more, not less, clean, low cost, non-GHG producing energy and use it to build innovative world class products. Cutting back on energy use per worker will decimate American middle class wages on a long term basis and force more and more manufacturing to go offshore.
The highest quality energy produced at the lowest cost and with the highest availability is nuclear energy. Nuclear energy can produce electrical energy than coal fired power plants [1]. As a culture, America has to find a way to reduce the largely regulation and litigation driven factors which price up American nuclear power. At the dawn of the nuclear age the US built the very first commercial power reactor at Shippingport, PA in just over 4 years from ground breaking to power out on the electrical grid. Today it takes about three times that amount of time largely due to regulatory burden. To compete in the world and to preserve American quality of life we need to find a way to reduce the regulatory burden imposed by the NRC on new reactors while not sacrificing safety.
[1] Cost of electricity from Molten Salt Reactors (MSR), Moir, Nuclear Technology 138 93-95 (2002)
http://www.geocities.com/rmoir2003/coe_10_2_2001.pdf