Going Green Is Good For The Economy!

According to a study conducted by University of California Berkeley, going green is actually good for the California's economy. This might dismay nay sayers trying to slap current economic down falls on going green.
Tthe 82 page study report involves explaining complicated economic theories that spans the scenario from going green to California becoming prosperous. With current plans, state will generate $48 billion boost in household income / savings and create as many as 403,000 jobs in the next 12 years. Yes it is very good!
After going through the papers and reading Daily Californian, the theory is very simple, even though it involved barrels of data and plethora of brain powers.
Californians will save money by involving in energy efficiency programs and these savings will allow them them to spend on other goodies, thus keeping the states economic arteries pumped up with resources. These will in turn will create more jobs and California continue to be the super golden state that it is.

Following is the Executive Summery of the study. You may find the link to 82 page PDF file after the jump.

"Global climate change poses significant risks to the California economy. Recognizing and responding to these threats, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order #S-3-05 (Schwarzenegger 2005) which called for a 30 percent reduction below business-as-usual of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. In September 2006, the California legislature passed and Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law the historic Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), which mandates a first-in-the-nation limit on emissions that cause global warming. In June 2006, the California Air Resources Board (CARB)released a “Draft Scoping Plan” – the policy roadmap to meet the emissions reduction target of 169 Million Metric Tons of Carbon (MMTCO2) equivalent by 2020 to stabilize at 427 MMTCO2 overall. The CARB board will take up final adoption of this plan in December 2008.
During the months leading up to this decision, a financial crisis of global proportions is unfolding. The state, nation and world are caught in serial market failures sparked by the collapse of the housing credit market, and there is much speculation about the impact of declining capital gains revenue on the state budget. Against this backdrop, Energy Efficiency, Innovation, and Job Creation in California analyses the economic impact of CARB’s past and future policies to reduce fossil fuel generated energy demand. California’s achievements in energy efficiency over the last generation are well known, but evidence about their deeper economic implications remains weak. This study examines the economy-wide employment effects of the state’s landmark efficiency policies over the last thirty-five years, and forecasts the economic effects of significantly more aggressive policies proposed to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020."

CERES @ UC Berkeley. Energy Efficiency, Innovation, and Job Creation in California
by David Roland-Holst

Tags: Energy Efficiency, Innovation, Job Creation in California, CERES, UC Berkeley

The City of Hiawatha Goes Green With The Help From Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – August 5, 2008 – The City of Hiawatha replaced its 58-year-old city hall with not only a newer, but a “greener” facility. The building went through an energy-efficient design process provided by the Commercial New Construction program offered through Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy Company. Representatives from both utilities will present rebate checks totaling $29,646 to city officials during a brief ceremony at the city hall on Wednesday, August 6 at 10:00 a.m.
“The City of Hiawatha has a responsibility to our residents and to our environment. With the construction of our new building, we were committed to making Hiawatha City Hall energy-efficient,” said Dave Van Dee, Hiawatha City Administrator. “During the design process, we met with Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy to learn more about making City Hall energy efficient and reducing our energy costs. The energy conservation strategies provide an annual energy cost savings that will be beneficial for years to come.”
By partnering with local utility representations and evaluating the building’s energy efficiency potential before construction began, the City is expected to save more than $15,000 each year on its energy bills. These operational savings result from the City lowering its expected energy usage by an estimated 179,616 kilowatt-hours of electricity and 4,314 therms of natural gas each year. These savings earn the City a total incentive of $29,646, with Alliant Energy awarding a $25,146 energy-efficiency rebate for the electric savings, and MidAmerican Energy providing a $4,500 incentive for the gas savings.

“We evaluated several potential energy conservation strategies the City of Hiawatha could consider in building City Hall,” said Sam Page- Strategic Account Manager, Alliant Energy. “Hiawatha city officials were willing to commit to energy-efficiency on the front end allowing us to achieve much greater fiscal and environmental results.”

Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), an Alliant Energy Company, and MidAmerican Energy offer Commercial New Construction Programs to assist owners and design teams in evaluating potential energy conservation strategies for new and renovated building projects. From the start of the conceptual design phase, the customer, project design team, and utility personnel work together using building performance simulation modeling to identify and implement cost-effective energy efficiency approaches that improve the overall energy efficiency of a building. A minimum energy savings of 5 percent greater than the State of Iowa building code is required.

The Commercial New Construction program can be utilized for new commercial buildings and building renovation projects. It is available to Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy retail electric and/or gas customers located in their respective Iowa service territories. For more information on Alliant Energy’s Commercial New Construction program, visit www.alliantenergy.com/newconstruction or call 1-866-ALLIANT (1-866-255-4268). For more information on MidAmerican Energy’s Commercial New Construction program, visit www.midamericanenergy.com/cnc or call 1-800-292-6448.
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Tags: energy efficiency, Going Green, City of Hiawatha, Alliant Energy, MidAmerican Energy, energy conservation

Going green -- savings and comfort are the best incentives

Would shrinking your carbon footprint, recycling more, and going green be easier if you could monitor your household's environmental impact? That's the question a team of Canadian industry consultants set out to answer. They report their findings in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management from Inderscience Publishers. The researchers recruited twenty willing households into a study group to assess how well environmentally sustainable behavior might be motivated by providing the householders with a clear and detailed picture of their impact on the environment and offering them tangible reasons for improvement and tailored solutions to problems.
They recorded and compared heating fuel, electricity, water, vehicle fuel costs and waste generation for each household and on the basis of this data recommended cost-effective measures to reduce consumption.
The team found that, on average, just over 25% of the recommended measures were implemented, which resulted in an estimated greenhouse gas reduction of about two tonnes for each household. This quantity of carbon emissions is about the same as one person making a return flight from Toronto to Vancouver and has an estimated environmental offsetting cost of around $30.
There were wide variations between households, however, demonstrating the potential to reduce environmental impact through lifestyle, conservation, and energy-conscious retrofits to older properties.
Despite initiatives such as Canada's "One Tonne Challenge" many individuals are increasingly concerned with environmental issues yet paradoxically feel that their personal efforts will either have little or no effect on global climate change and so are not adopting green principles.
"Participants commented that they became much more aware of their energy consumption and environmental impact by taking part in the year-long study and were, as a result, motivated to make changes to their behavior and physical surroundings," the researchers say.
The researchers recommended a raft of environmental measures for the participants. These included replacing incandescent with compact fluorescent bulbs, activating energy saving settings on computers, installing ceiling fans, and reducing air-conditioning use. They also suggested several popular heating energy reduction measures including improving the air tightness of the home, insulating foundations, walls and hot water tanks.
Vehicle emissions were reduced by lower vehicle use and using ethanol blended gasoline, while water was saved by replacing toilets with low-water models, installing kitchen faucet aerators, reducing sprinkler use and installing rain barrels. All households were already recycling and 90% composting before the study began.
The team found that of the thirty or so environmental measures that they recommended, only thirteen were implemented by one in five or more of the households.
The follow-up survey of participants indicated that their priorities regarding home upgrades were in improving comfort and lowering operating costs rather than reducing environmental impact. "The major obstacles to reducing environmental impact were seen as financial cost and lack of time and knowledge to evaluate and implement environmental measures," the team reported. However, for those measures where a payback was possible in less than ten years, households were more likely to implement the measures.
An additional socioeconomic factor that has been overlooked in other studies emerged from the present research. There were several common factors among the households with the highest environmental impact per occupant. These were higher floor area per occupant, than average, multiple vehicle ownership, greater mileage, and occupants being 40-something adults with no children living at home. "These lifestyle factors appeared to have more impact than the environmental features we think of most often like the quality of the building envelope or energy efficiency of appliances and fixtures," the researchers say.
The project demonstrated that most homeowners are willing to take steps to reduce their environmental impact if they are provided with practical recommendations that will improve home comforts and reduce costs. But, there was enormous variance in adopting such measures and lowering household carbon footprint even within the same community, which the researchers suggest implies that new regulations, grants, and taxes to make good environmental practices and products a better investment than less environmentally sound alternatives could be the most effective way to change behavior on a large scale.

Contact: Jane Thompson
jtarch@cyberus.ca
613-747-8104
Inderscience Publishers 

Energy Efficiency Expo By Southern California Gas Co. To Help Customers "Go Green"

LOS ANGELES, April 14, 2008 – With more California businesses focusing on making their operations environmentally friendly, Southern California Gas Co. (The Gas Company) is showing companies how “going green” can be good for their bottom line.

On April 29, The Gas Company will host its third annual Energy Efficiency Expo, where commercial and industrial natural gas customers can learn about the latest energy-saving technologies and financial incentives available to accelerate the return on investment from energy efficiency.

“California leads the nation in energy efficiency,” said Debra L. Reed, president and chief executive officer of Southern California Gas Co. “How to use energy more wisely to both reduce costs and lessen the impact on the environment is frequently cited by our customers as one of their top priorities, and we’re committed to helping them accomplish this.”

This year’s Expo promises to be the most informative yet, with California Public Utilities Commissioner Timothy Alan Simon delivering the keynote address, titled, “Energy Efficiency in California: Why It Makes Sense for Business.”

Economist Jack Kyser, senior vice president of the Los Angeles County Economic
Development Corp., will lead a breakout session on energy and the region’s economy.

Other breakout sessions include energy efficiency in the food-service industry, compliance with AB 32 (California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006) and energy efficiency in the public sector.

The Gas Company also will honor the biggest energy-saving projects of 2007, including that of a South Gate, Calif., oil refinery that received a $195,000 incentive for equipment upgrades that have reduced the refinery’s annual energy costs by more than $1 million.

Customers attending the Expo, which will be held from 8 a.m. to noon April 29 at The Gas Company’s Energy Resource Center in Downey, Calif., will learn how to take advantage of the $18 million in incentives available to commercial and industrial natural gas customers this year. Business customers can register for the Energy Efficiency Expo by contacting their account representatives, by calling (800) 427-6584, or by visiting www.socalgas.com/erc.

Media Contact: Rachel Laing The Gas Company (877) 866-2066 www.socalgas.com
tag: Going Green, Going Green EXPO, environmentally friendly Business, Southern California Gas Co, Energy Efficiency Expo, natural gas,