In his Jan. 24 State of the Union address, Pres. Obama pointed to "a future where we're in control of our own energy," and said he refuses to back down from supporting clean, green energy.
"Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy.
"With only 2 percent of the world's oil reserves, oil isn't enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy..."
Pres. Obama reminded Congress that it was public research dollars over 30 years that helped develop the technologies to extract natural gas out of shale rock, and said it served as a reminder that government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground.
"... what's true for natural gas is just as true for clean energy. In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world's leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries. Because of federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled, and thousands of Americans have jobs because of it."
Alluding to Solyndra, he added, "Our experience with shale gas shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don't always come right away. Some technologies don't pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy.
"I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here.
Manufacturing energy use decline is an upper
By: Kate Bachman
It’s good to get good news. And from a green manufacturing perspective, news doesn’t get much better than the recent news that the manufacturing sector’s energy use and energy intensity has gone down since 2002.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Total energy consumption in the manufacturing sector decreased by 17 percent from 2002 to 2010.
Countering any misconceptions that the decrease is related to decreased manufacturing activity, manufacturing gross output decreased by only 3 percent over the same period, according to the EIA.
“Taken together, this data indicates a significant decline in the amount of energy used per unit of gross manufacturing output. The significant decline in energy intensity reflects both improvements in energy efficiency and changes in the manufacturing output mix. Consumption of every fuel used for manufacturing declined over this period,” the agency’s report stated.
The manufacturing sector comprised over 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010.
The ramification of this reduction is significant, in terms of accompanying emissions reductions, since energy concumption = CO2 emissions.
The reduction also helps void the need to build new coal-fired power plants.
Other benefits that may not necessarily benefit the environment certainly benefit manufacturers, in that lowered energy use equates to lowered overhead costs and improved competitiveness.
Who says no news is good news?
Tags: emissions, energy, Green, Greenbuild, sustainability
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