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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Sustainable Energy Foundation of Sustainable Living Santa Cruz, CA Thursday 2006 July 27 7:00pm Ron Swenson
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Swenson’s Law
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Energy Scoreboard Primary challenges are: Global Warming EROEI Scalability Timing
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Why leave out Economics? Economics is an instrument of policy. It’s the last step in the process: –First figure out what works… –Then create incentives.
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Atmospheric CO 2
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Larsen B Ice Shelf Collapse Feb-Mar 2002 In about 35 days Larger than Rhode Island Totally baffled scientists 1 down, 4 to go
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Sea Level +6M New York City Long Beach Atlantic City Wildwood Montauk New Haven
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops (380) (850) The Stabilization Triangle: Beat doubling or accept tripling Values in parentheses are ppm. Note the identity (a fact about the size of the Earth’s atmosphere): 1 ppm = 2.1 GtC. 14 7 21 1955205521052005 850 ppm 500 ppm Ramp = Delay Flat = Act Now 1.9 (320) (470) (530) (750) (500) (850) Business As Usual 2155 2205 GtC/yr Historical emissions Stabilization triangle Based on Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow, August 13, 2004, Science
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops 20552005 14 7 Billion of Tons of Carbon Emitted per Year 1955 0 Currently projected path Flat path Historical emissions 1.9 2105 14 GtC/y 7 GtC/y Seven “wedges” Wedges O
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops What is a “Wedge”? A “wedge” is a strategy to reduce carbon emissions that grows in 50 years from zero to 1.0 GtC/yr. The strategy has already been commercialized at scale somewhere. 1 GtC/yr 50 years Total = 25 Gigatons carbon Cumulatively, a wedge redirects the flow of 25 GtC in its first 50 years. This is 2.5 trillion dollars at $100/tC. A “solution” to the CO 2 problem should provide at least one wedge.
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops U.S. Wedges Source: Daniel Lashof, NRDC
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Energy Scoreboard Primary challenges are: Global Warming EROEI Scalability Timing
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops EROEI Energy Returned On Energy Invested ERoEI(field) >> ERoEI(solid, liquid, gas)
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops EROEI for PV EPBT: 5 years Life: 50 years Plus it can be bootstrapped EROEI = 10 30 ~ electric
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops EROEI for Thin Film PV EPBT: 6 months Life: 20 years EROEI = 40 120 ~electric
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops EROEI for Wind EPBT: 3 months Life: 20 years EROEI = 80 240 ~ electric
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops EROEI for Tar Sands Plus… Ravaged land Water contamination Extraction uses natural gas Low EROEI → Greenhouse gases EROEI = 3?
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops EROEI = 4 12 ~ electric EROEI for Nuclear Plus … Terrorism Waste guarded for 10,000+ years Depletion → low grade ores → Greenhouse gases … How do we value a 1,000 + year wasteland?
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops EROEI for Hydrogen Am I missing something?! EROEI = -½
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Corn Ethanol
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Freeway at Capacity
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Vehicles Removed
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops PRT Passengers
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops PRT System
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Solar PRT
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops INDUSTRY 35% TRANSPORTATION 27% RESIDENTIAL 21% COMMERCIAL 17%
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops
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INDUSTRY 25% TRANSPORTATION 27% BUILDINGS 48%
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops
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design & innovation passive solar heating passive cooling daylighting siting building shape, color and orientation fenestration location, size and shape shading natural ventilation materials / properties green roofs
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops PV: The Growth Industry Oil declines at 4%/yr(?) PV increases at 50%/yr ?
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www.ecotopia.com/workshops Wake Up!!!
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