Forbes Magazine on the Fifth Fuel
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07.18.08
Forbes Magazine has produced a special report on a subject dear to our hearts, efficiency, the fifth fuel. Amory Lovins kicks it off with The Case for Efficiency:
"Using smarter technologies, more brains and less money to wring more work from less delivered energy--what energy experts call "end-use efficiency"--is the largest, cheapest, safest, cleanest, fastest, most diverse, least visible, least understood and most neglected way to provide energy services."
Its photo essay with ten efficiency bangs for your buck include green roofs, building orientation, but surprisingly, from a business magazine known as "the Capitalist Tool" and owned by a right wing perennial presidential candidate, such un-American ideas as bicycles and following the speed limit.
Another article looks at the ten most fuel efficient neighbourhoods in America, which turn out to include Brooklyn Heights and Koreatown in Los Angeles.
We are thrilled to see such a mainstream and relatively conservative publication making such a big deal about the best and cheapest energy source we have- efficiency. ::Forbes : The Fifth Fuel
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The winds of change are picking up. Forbes is a bit behind the curve but better than never.
Using a 5300 lb machine to move a 180 lb man is the definition of insanity....
I have no doubt that we can easily cut energy use by 30% overall by using it more efficiently without compromising our life styles.
I'm with stradric. Thank god.
One thing irks me, though. How come wind, solar, geothermal, wave, and tidal get wrapped up in the phrase "alternative energy?" How come coal and oil get separate mentions, instead of being lumped together as "fossil fuels?"
Higher efficiency is the first step in moving to a more sustainable society. Current renewable energy technology cannot provide the same amount of power as Natural Gas and Coal. States such as Connecticut and California lead the country in instituting energy efficiency in commercial and industrial sectors (mostly due to high local energy prices). Many states can learn from Connecticut and CA.