The Obama Administration has been very involved in coming up with viable plans that people can follow in order to cut down on their energy use, and in turn, help the environment. The administration has also taken much out of the playbook of previous administrations, as it has allowed many powerful lobbyists to control or at least guide important environmental conversations (politics as usual). The only difference with this administration is that the powerful lobbyists come less from the oil or coal conglomerates, and more from the new “green” sector who contributed heftily to Obama’s campaign fund. With that said, there is a very interesting article from Time Magazine about the use of green lobbyists posted below. While it does not necessarily contain practical ways for people to help the environment (and especially ways to make their homes greener), it is a good starting point in understanding where the green discussions are going within the administration and who the power players are.
Note: Check the “Incentives for Greener Housing” page to look at some of the practical measures that the Obama Administration has proposed in order to cut down on energy use through the use of incentives. (1)
In addition, President Obama’s Energy secretary, Steven Chu, is already spreading the word outside of the United States. In London, during a symposium hosted by Prince Charles, Chu pioneered the idea of painting roofs white. Chu claims that taking such measures is “the equivalent of reducing the carbon emissions due to all the cars on the road for 11 years.” Chu encourages a transitional “revolution” rather than a sudden action. As seen below, home/domestic carbon emissions are the greatest contributors to today’s crisis.
THE MATHEMATICS:
According to the CIA World Fact Book, there are
**4.2E6 kilometers (=4.2E9 meters) of paved roads in the US
**Total US land area is 9E6 square kilometers (=9E12 square meters)
**Total US annual (2007) electricity consumption is 4E12 kilowatt hours (=1.5E19 joules).
**The rate solar energy strikes the top of Earth’s atmosphere is1370 joules per second per square meter (because this calculation is approximate and the solar radiation away from the equator strikes indirectly, round the 1370 down to 1000).
**There are just over 30 million seconds in a year (60 X 60 X 24 X 365.24). If it is daylight half the time and there are some rainy days, then sunlight strikes the roads roughly 10 million seconds each year.
**Assume roads are an average of about 20 meters wide.
**Multiply the width by the length gives the total area of roads in the US as about 8E10 square meters. Note: this number is roughly 1 percent of the total land area in the US.
**Multiply the solar constant by the area of roads and the annual number of seconds of sunlight each year to find that roughly 8E20 joules of solar energy strike US roads every year. This amount of energy is difficult to grasp but it exceeds the total annual US electricity consumption.
Chu suggests that painting roofs white is a good start to reducing the electrical energy needs of the country. It sure is worth a try. (2)
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Sources:
(1)
Green Lobbyists Influencing Obama Administration (Time Magazine article)
Last Accessed 5.07.10
(2)
Obama’s Energy Secretary Suggests White Roofs
Last Accessed 5.07.10
