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Energy Efficiency

Measure Energy Efficiency in Your Home

Mon, 01/31/2011 - 1:56pm
By: 
Ian Elwood

Take a look at this great talk by energy efficiency expert Saul Griffith, given at PopTech in 2008. Though it is a few years old, the video is still relevant – it walks you through an audit of Saul's home energy use and the results are surprising. Even someone as well versed in energy efficiency as Saul Griffith uses eight times more power than a person living in the Global South.


Energy Efficiency: Paid Lunch or False Shortcut?

Sun, 01/02/2011 - 4:03pm
By: 
Peter Bosshard

Energy efficiency looks like the perfect solution to our energy problems. Efficiency gains not only reduce our energy consumption, but typically pay for themselves. They are “not a free lunch, but a lunch you’re paid to eat,” Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins argue in their influential book, Factor Four. Their twin benefits make efficiency improvements politically more feasible than measures such as carbon taxes.

A recent story in The New Yorker magazine has cast doubts about the effectiveness of energy efficiency. “The problem with efficiency gains is that we inevitably reinvest them in additional consumption,” argues David Owen in his article, "The Efficiency Dilemma." His story has triggered a heated debate in the blogosphere. Here is an overview of the issues at stake.

Clean, Cheap, Plentiful: Energy Efficiency Video

By: 
Ian Elwood, International Rivers

Global demand for energy is growing by leaps and bounds, and politicians the world over are responding with an environmentally damaging roll-out of big dams, more coal mining, and a push for more nuclear plants. But there is a better way to meet our needs.

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China's Green Leap Forward

by Peter Bosshard

World's biggest energy user on track to become world's best energy-saver 

It is a cold winter morning in Beijing. As I prepare to write this story about energy efficiency in China, I wonder how efficient my own day will be. I enjoyed a quick shower with warm water from the solar tank on our roof, and prepared our breakfast with appliances that carry energy performance labels. All our lighting fixtures are energy efficient, and none of the electronic equipment is on standby. (Many appliances use power even when off. Standby power now accounts for 5-10% of total residential electricity use in developed countries.)

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Will China Win the Clean Energy Race With the US?

Tue, 01/19/2010 - 11:21am

China's Liu Xiang on track to winning Olympic Gold in 2004 (www.chine-informations.com/images/upload2/Liu_xiang.jpg)

China's Liu Xiang on track to winning Olympic Gold in 2004 (www.chine-informations.com/images/upload2/Liu_xiang.jpg)

In April 2009, President Obama said, "The nation that leads the world in twenty-first-century clean energy will be the nation that leads in the twenty-first-century global economy." Will China or the United States win the race for clean energy technology and future economic predominance? Here is an update with some personal impressions from Beijing.

Cuba’s Energy Revolution: Yes They Can!

Fri, 05/01/2009 - 11:03am
Che Guevara on bike

Che Guevara on bike

Barack Obama has proposed to invest $150 billion in renewable energy and energy efficiency over the next ten years. He need look no further than La Havana for inspiration. Cuba has successfully greened its energy sector over the last few years, and is now exporting its energy revolution. Will we soon benefit from Cuban expertise in cleaning up the US energy sector?

To Save Amazonia, There is Another Way

Wind turbine (Archive)

Wind turbine (Archive)

Brazil's electric sector says the country's energy future hinges on damming the rivers of Amazonia. But the Amazon could be protected and people's energy needs met through aggressive investment in energy efficiency and true renewables such as biomass, small hydro, solar and wind.

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Fontes Alternativas de Energia e Eficiência Energética

Lúcia Schild Ortiz, organização

Cartaz: Fontes Alternativa de Energia e Eficiência Energética (Fundação Heinrich Böll, Coalizão Rios Vivos)

Cartaz: Fontes Alternativa de Energia e Eficiência Energética (Fundação Heinrich Böll, Coalizão Rios Vivos)

O seminário "Fontes Alternativas de Energia e Eficiência Energética: Opção para uma política energética sustentável no Brasil", organizado pela Fundação Heinrich Böll e a Coalizão Rios Vivos em Brasília em 2002 foi um marco no debate sobre o futuro energético do país. Este livro contém as apresentações de especialistas que apontam um caminho em que o Brasil poder seguir para eliminar sua dependência em grandes hidrelétricas na Amazônia.

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South Africa’s Elusive Negawatts

Terri Hathaway

Since 2006, South Africa’s energy crisis has dealt a serious blow to Africa’s largest economy, cutting off big industries and energy-importing neighbors, and derailing planned investments. At times, the shortage has plunged the country into darkness.

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