Calls on Candidates Support Policies to Solve U.S. Energy Crisis
ST.
LOUIS—The Missouri Public Interest Research Group (MOPIRG) today
unveiled the ten best technologies to move America beyond fossil fuels
and toward a cleaner, more secure energy future for America. Field
Organizer, Maya Buelow was joined by coalition partners, Gary Steps,
from Butterfly Energy Works, and Maud Essen, a Bio-Fuels Activist to
present the great opportunity that Americans have to use readily
available technologies to save energy and to call on their
congressional candidates to commit to a clean, safe energy future.
The ten-best list is based on MOPIRG's new report "The Road to a New Energy Future",
which highlights numerous technologies to reduce U.S. dependence on
fossil fuels. It is the second of two reports that reinforce the
importance of an American commitment to moving toward a cleaner and
more secure energy future.
"With
war in the middle east, volatile gas prices, and the gathering storm of
global warming, America needs a new energy future," said said Maya
Buelow, the Field Organizer for MoPIRG. "We cannot afford to pass up
any of these golden opportunities," continued Maya Buelow.
President
of Butterfly Energy Works, Gary Steps, said "Because we went through
the energy crisis in the 70s, the current economy is 42% more energy
efficient per dollar of GNP than back then. Doing this again, or even
bettering it, is well within our abilities, and can significantly
reduce our international imbalance
of payments and allow us to approach energy independence. Current
technologies can get us most of the way, and serious research can not
only complete the task but give us technology that can be sold to the
world."
Maud
Essen urged citizens to make informed buyer choices, taking into
consideration fuel efficiency and the level of carbon emissions of a
vehicle.
MoPIRG's report shows that the U.S. already has the
tools to accomplish the goals of reducing U.S. dependence on oil;
harnessing clean, renewable, homegrown energy; and saving energy with
high performance homes, buildings and appliances.
Identified by MoPIRG as among the Ten Best Opportunities for a New Energy Future were:
- Hybrid and electric vehicles. Our electric scooter cost about 2 cents per mile and vehicles already exist that go 100 miles on a gallon of gas.
- "Zero Energy" homes.
Build homes that can generate as much energy as they use by combining
energy efficiency technologies like super insulation, advanced building
systems, energy star appliances and renewable energy such as
solar-panels.
- Change light bulbs.
Lighting accounts for about 9 percent of household electricity
consumption. If every American household replaced its most highly used
incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent, total household lighting
consumption could be cut by more than half, as seen on the watt meter
comparing fluorescent and incandescents.
- Farm energy.
The U.S. already gets about 3 percent of its energy from "biomass" --
plant waste and energy crops which can be obtained from a variety of
sources, from crop residues to dedicated energy crops and can be used
to create clean bio-fuels.
- Capture the heat of the earth. The natural heat and hot water contained deep within the earth itself
provides a renewable source of energy. A similar technology called
earth source heat pumps also exists where geothermal is not available.
More than one million heat pumps are currently in use in the United
States, but there is great potential for expansion in the market. Gary
Steps recommends these to almost all his customers.
- Put a stake in the heart of the energy vampires.
Replacing existing appliances with those that minimize the energy
wasted by "standby" power use could reduce energy losses by 68 percent.
Also on the list were:
1. Efficient Industrial Motors
2. Solar Hot Water
3. Wind Power could
theoretically generate enough electricity for the entire country, by
harnessing the wind blows through America's Great Plains.
4. Solar Power could also generate enough energy to
power the country, by installing solar panels on only 7% of already
existing buildings in America.
MoPIRG today also called on all Congressional candidates in Missouri to
support the goals of a New Energy Future. "The opportunity for a New
Energy Future is knocking and Missourians are calling on our leaders to
answer," said Maya Buelow, "We need a national commitment to put these
clean energy tools in the hands of the individuals and businesses that
will build our energy future," concluded Buelow.
MoPIRG is a statewide non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization.
More
than 250 environmental, consumer, labor, and civic groups including the
United Steel Workers, Jefferson County Health Department, and the
Missouri Coalition for the Environment in Missouri have endorsed the
New Energy Future platform to take advantage of these opportunities to
reduce oil use, promote the use of renewable energy, and help Americans
save energy.
