Energy Conservation: Problems, Methods Research Paper

To do everyday activities such as driving, listening to music, preparing a meal, and unwinding in a warm bath require the use of energy. Energy is like a ‘water well’. People keep on taking water out of the well to fulfill their needs without thinking about the ‘wellness’ of the ‘well’. If people continuously keep on taking water without proper precautions the well will either dry up or become contaminated. Therefore, people should invest in energy-efficient equipment and strategies which will help conserve energy.

Unfortunately, there is a paradox in sources to minimize energy use since the sources of minimizing sometimes end up using more energy than its goal of preventing energy use. Henceforth, energy efficiency should be sought out but with regards to minimizing energy and not only making it efficient and easier to consume. According to statistics, the consumption of fuels is the main source of energy consumption; henceforth a proper sustainability plan for efficient fuel use for cars has to be developed.

“Energy is essential for social development and economic growth. It provides basic services, such as heating, cooling, cooking, lighting, and transportation, and is a critical production factor in virtually all sectors of industry.” (Unander, 2005, p. 377) To do anything we need energy, it’s what moms always tell their kids, and it’s embedded in the laws of physics.

But the production and use of energy cause environmental degradation at all levels – local, regional and global. Combustion of fossil fuels and fuelwood leads to indoor and outdoor air pollution by particulates and oxides of sulfur and nitrogen; hydropower can cause environmental damage due to the submergence of large areas of land, and climate change caused by the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has become a worldwide concern. Depletion of natural resources, accumulation of wastes, deforestation, water pollution. and land disturbance is further examples of energy-related environmental issues. (Unander, 2005, p. 377)

If people continue to use energy excessively and unnecessarily the environment will be affected greatly and future generations will suffer.

Anyone would assume that a simple and common proposal for energy conservation is using energy efficiently. According to Williams Stanley Jevons, efficient use of energy will double the use of energy instead of decreasing it. “Jevons paradox is the observation that greater energy efficiency, while in the short-run producing energy savings, may in the long-run result in higher energy use.” (Herring & York, 2006) In 1865, in his book The Coal Question he observed that “it is a confusion of ideas to suppose that the economical use of fuel is equivalent to diminished consumption.

The very contrary is the truth.” (cited in Herring & York, 2006) In other words, when technological energy-efficient machines are developed they make it easier for people to use energy because it becomes more economical and easier to afford.

When things become cheaper people consume more, when people consume more and they have the means to consume more it means that the economy is doing better, when the economy is doing better then automatically means that it is growing or consuming more because it has the power and means to consume more which in the end means that eventually there will be even more consumption than there was previously. Although energy efficiency has its drawbacks it does not mean that it’s a bad or negative measure in trying to eradicate the unnecessary consumption of energy. (Herring & York, 2006)

“Because of the important role that energy plays in every country in terms of environmental performance and the sustainability of development, it is essential to have accurate energy data and appropriate indicators to support monitoring of policies and tracking of progress in the sector.” (Unander, 2005, p. 377) The Energy Information Administration/Annual Energy Outlook 2008 provides data for energy consumption today and the growth predictions up to 2030.

The total energy supply and disposition summary in quadrillion Btu per year estimate that the annual growth of production from 2006 – 2030 will be 0.8%, the annual growth of imports will be 0.3% by 2030, the annual growth of exports will also be 0.8%, and the consumption growth total will be 0.7%. (p.115) The energy consumption by sector and source will amount to an 0.8% increase in the residential sector, the commercial sector will have a 1.4% increase, the industrial sector will have a 0.3% increase. (p. 117) While looking at the energy process by sector and source each sector will have the most increase in fuel and oil-related energy sources.

In the residential sector, liquefied petroleum gases will have the highest annual growth rate by 2030, a 0.40%. In the commercial sector, residual fuel oil will have an annual growth rate of 0.3%. In the industrial sector, both distillate and residual fuel oil will have a 0.2% annual growth rate by 2030. In the transportation sector, liquefied petroleum gases will be at 0.8%, and residual fuel oils will be at a whopping 1.2%. Residual fuel oil will also be the main culprit in electric power use and will have a price growth rate to all users of an annual 0.8%. (p. 120) Looking at these statistics paints a picture of how energy will be consumed and how it will affect the environment and points out a common verdict: the fuels used in a car.

In OECD countries, oil demand is increasingly concentrated in the transport sector. While transport accounted for just over half of total final oil consumption in 1973, it today constitutes around 80%. Passenger cars and light trucks account for over half of OECD oil demand for transport, and have been the principal driving force behind growth in OECD oil demand over the last three decades.” (Unander, 2005, p. 383)

How much energy will be consumed and through which ways it will be consumed depends on the current needs of the society? For example, the use of fuel in cars depends on how the car is used, how long it is used, and how much mileage it gives. (Unander, 2005, p. 383) “The principal driver behind the increase in oil demand for passenger cars is increased car ownership. Once individuals and families own a car, their travel by car and their total passenger-kilometers rise dramatically.” (Unander, 2005, p. 383)

“Oil has been the fuel of choice to meet our energy needs. Many experts believe that the supply of oil will reach a peak in the first quarter of the 21st century – sometime between now and 2025 – and will begin to decline.” (Fanchi, 2005, p. 1)

Cars have a huge impact on the environment in the living things in them. Cars produce carbon emissions and leave behind huge carbon footprints. As statistics prove fuels are the main source of consumption which is mainly used in cars because of their enormous increase in usage by people. Cars cause traffics jams, a threat to mental health because they cause tension amongst people who need to get to important places. Cars cause noise pollution: honking. Cars cause environmental pollution: engine exhausts and CO2 emissions. Cars nowadays come installed with radio’s and music systems which also consume energy. To sum it up, cars contribute a huge deal to the consumption of energy and have a huge impact on the entire environment.

There are many sustainability strategies already in place concerning the use of energy but they are not producing efficient results because according to statistics the growth rate of energy consumption is increasing by the year. To reach sustainability a global plan has to be established and thoroughly followed with the support of the government and energy associations all over the world. “Diesel engines play a major role in transportation, industrial power generation, and agricultural sector. There is a need to search and find ways of using preferably renewable fuels, clean-burning, and with low emission.” (Banapurmath, 2008, p. 324) The solution lies in a low heat rejection fuelled with low volatile Honge oil and its methyl ester (HOME):

Energy conservation and efficiency have always been the quest of engineers concerned with internal combustion (IC) engines. A diesel engine generally offers better fuel economy than its counterpart petrol engines… The main objective of the low heat rejection engines is to improve thermal efficiency. (Banapurmath, 2008)

Aside from low heat rejection engines, vegetable oils can also be converted into fuels for cars but both methods require a lot of money.

The benefits of finding a solution that will help conserve the use of energy and use it more efficiently will cost a lot of money. To raise huge amounts of money and use it in the right direction needs a lot of government support. But while raising money and finding a way to use energy efficiently Jevons Paradox should be kept in mind. While achieving the results of having engines and cars that will use oil that comes from non-renewable energy the economy will also grow. Once these technologies are developed it will be very easy for people to consume them and the use of energy will double. To eradicate this problem the economies received from finding out cheaper methods of oil in cars the benefits should not go completely to the public.

The first step in the sustainability plan will be to raise enough money to get research and development for low heat engines and vegetable oil for car fuels and also find the people who already have research to go onto the next step. This can be done by finding sponsors in the form of big companies who believe in “green” and already have an environmentally ethical policy integrated with their company.

One example is Marks and Spencer and its Plan A where they work to reduce the carbon footprint related to their company all over the world. (Plan A, 2008) The first goal will be to meet with possible sponsors and give them an overview of the problem, its impact, and what needs to be done. This should easily take half a year because collecting funds to carry out a project is one of the hardest tasks. Once the money is there the engines should be launched and appropriate partnerships should be made with car companies to integrate these engines into specially marked green cars. Although the environment has received a lot of publicity in the media to sell a product the marketing aspects have to be covered from all angles.

Environmentally conscious celebrities should be used as spokespersons for the projects so people become more aware of the green engines on the market and go out and buy them. Before making the engines directly available to the public they should be installed within public transportation with the help of government funds which can easily take up to a year. Eventually, as more engines will be developed the costs will reduce but all the monetary benefits should not be given to the public. The Jevons Paradox has to be kept in mind because when the public gets easy access to the energy it will more likely double the use of energy instead of decrease it.

Henceforth, the prices that are decreased due to more production of the product should be kept and used for further development of the product. The people should either be somehow taxed for the use or only be given a little price decrease as the production curve increases.

This will sustain the use of transportation instead of increase it due to the development of new energy-efficient technology and help the government recover a few funds from the initial investment and develop funds for future use. Many years will have to be invested into this plan for it to work efficiently around the paradox presented by Jevon. This plan should take a total of five years and once the government starts collecting the funds there can be more researches on how to eradicate further problems presented by the paradox.

Sustainability can be reached if enough time and money are invested in the development of the plan. Energy consumption is a huge part of the environment and the need for it to survive in the future generation. According to statistics, the consumption of fuels is the common verdict amongst all the sectors and a leading factor of energy consumption. Although energy efficiency can increase the use of energy instead of decreasing it there are ways to go about the issue and tackle the task at hand by keeping the additional revenues and not giving all the monetary benefits to the public directly and using them for future funds instead. Once these programs are developed and acted upon efficiently the problem of energy consumption can be sustained or not eradicated.

References

Banapurmath, N., & Tewari, P. (2008). Performance of a low heat rejection engine fuelled with low volatile Honge oil and its methyl ester (HOME). Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers — Part A — Power & Energy, 222(3), 323-330. Web.

(2008). Energy Information Administration/Annual Energy Outlook. Web.

Fanchi, J. R., & Fanchi, J. R. (2005). Energy in the 21st century. Hackensack, N.J.: World Scientific.

Herring, H & York, R. (2006). Jevons paradox. Web.

Plan A. Web.

Unander, F. (2005). Energy indicators and sustainable development: The International Energy Agency approach. Natural Resources Forum, 29(4), 377-391. Web.