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Copyright © 1997 by Alliance to Save Energy, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Tellus Institute, and Union of Concerned Scientists.

Suggested citation:

Energy Innovations. 1997. Energy Innovations: A Prosperous Path to a Clean Environment. Washington, DC: Alliance to Save Energy, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Tellus Institute, and Union of Concerned Scientists.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION,

ADDRESSES OF

THE CONTRIBUTING

ORGANIZATIONS ARE:

Alliance to Save Energy

1200 18th St., NW, Suite 900

Washington, DC 20036

http://www.ase.org

American Council for an Energy

Efficient Economy

1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Suite 801

Washington, DC 20036

http://www.crest.org/aceee

Natural Resources Defense Council

40 West 20th Street

New York, NY 10011 http://www.nrdc.org

Tellus Institute

11 Arlington Street

Boston, MA 02116

http://www.tellus.org

Union of Concerned Scientists

2 Brattle Square

Cambridge, MA 02238

http://www.ucsusa.org

For additional copies of

Energy Innovations: A Prosperous Path to a Clean Environment, please contact the Alliance to Save Energy.

➤ energy/nnovations

AUTHORS AND CONTRIBUTORS

The Energy Innovations study was a nearly two-year effort involving several organizations and many individuals. The project was initiated and carried out as a collaborative effort by the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE). the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Tellus Institute, and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Steve Bernow of Tellus, John DeCicco of ACEEE, Daniel Lashof of NRDC, Alden Meyer of UCS, and Doug Norland of ASE comprised the study's steering committee. John DeCicco and Daniel Lashof, with Deborah Gordon (consultant) acting as Associate Editor, edited the report and wrote the Executive Summary. Steve Bernow led the Tellus team and, with Max Duckworth and others at Tellus, performed the integrating analyses for the entire study and produced the final energy, cost-benefit, and emissions results. Max Duckworth, with Bill Dougherty, Mark Fulmer, Charlie Heaps, and others on the Tellus team performed the National Energy Modeling System simulations and supplemental economic analyses. Skip Laitner of Economic Research Associates performed the macroeconomic analyses in coordination with Bernow and others at Tellus. Principal authors and sector analysts for each chapter were as follows:

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Report production was supervised by John DeCicco at ACEEE, with integration and copyediting performed by Renee Nida and editorial assistance by Julia Merchant, Mary Rubin, and Wayan Vota. At ASE, Doug Norland coordinated peer review and, along with Rozanne Weissman and Kara Saul, assisted with production. Cover design, layout, and report publication were handied by Paul Allen, Moira O'Leary, Aileen Randolph, and their colleagues at Ogilvy Adams & Rinehart.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful for the critical comments and suggestions obtained from individuals who served as peer reviewers for the draft report or particular chapters: Bruce Biewald, Gale Boyd, David Chien, Carmen Difiglio, David Festa, Howard Geller, John German, Eric Hirst, Jon Koomey, Mark Levine, Chris Marnay, Nathan Martin, Jim McMahon, Alan Miller, Frank Muller, Steve Nadel, Joe Roop, Art Rosenfeld, Marc Ross, Dan Santini, Dan Steinmeyer, and John Wilson.

We would also like to acknowledge the technical assistance and information provided to us by Mary Hutzler, Director of the Office of Integrated Analysis and Forecasting at the Energy Information Administration, and her staff: Joseph Baumgartner, Erin Boedecker, Cedric Britt, David Chien, John Cymbalsky, Jeff Jones, Perry Lindstrom, Tom Petersik, Scott Sitzer, Dan Skelly, Steve Wade, Peter Whitman, and others. Valuable technical input and suggestions were also received from Eric Peterson of the Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and Nancy Kete of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Office of Atmospheric Programs, as well as Maureen Mullen of E.H. Pechan & Associates, Inc., Sharon Nizich of the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, U.S. EPA, and Anant Vyas of the Center for Transportation Research, Argonne National Laboratory.

Financial support for this project was provided by the the Alida R. Messinger Trust of the Rockefeller Family Funds, Inc., Changing Horizons Charitable Trust, the Charles Evans Hughes Foundation, the Education Foundation of America, the Energy Foundation, the Leighty Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation, the Surdna Foundation and the Wallace Global Fund.

While we are grateful for the financial, critical, technical, and moral support of those acknowledged above, responsibility for the conclusions and recommendations contained here rests with the authoring organizations and the Energy Innovations project team.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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The energy system that fuels our 20th century economy exemplifies such progress through partnership. Most of this system is built upon innovations of the 19th century, when coal was industrialized and oil commercialized, electricity was harnessed, and the automobile invented. From wildcat drillers to John D. Rockefeller to oil companies today, savvy deals, roughneck work, public subsidies-and sometimes military might-have pumped petroleum from wells worldwide to neighborhood gas stations. Government investments in roads and transit then enabled us to get to work and school, shop and visit family and friends, and convey goods to and from market. Thomas Edison's inventions were connected to public and private investments in power plants and power lines. From city to farm and from home to factory, Americans benefit from reliable electricity plus the appliances and machinery it powers, providing light in the night and air-conditioning in the summer.

Today's energy systems did not arise just through the hidden hand of market forces, though markets have played an important role. They are as much a

product of strategic visions, wherein private investments melded with government incentives and policies to create the complex networks and industries that dominate the energy scene. Public policy guidelines were developed to ensure that benefits are broadly shared, to minimize the side effects of energy production and use, and to prevent undue harm. Such is the case with a fuel and power supply system now dominated by fossil sources.

Three concerns our environment, our economy, and our security-compel us to rethink U.S. energy strategy.

Burning fossil fuels harms our health and damages the planet. Oil and coal combustion in particular contribute to smog and acid rain, and are the largest source of sooty fine particles that lodge in our lungs and shorten the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year.

Fossil fuel consumption is also the chief source of
the pollutants that are disrupting the earth's cli-
mate. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the inherent by-
product of burning coal, oil, and (to a lesser extent)
natural gas. As a result, concentrations of this gas
have increased by 30 percent since the industrial
revolution, and scientists have concluded that a
human influence on global climate is already dis-
cernible. Continued buildup of carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gases threatens human health
and well-being with many adverse consequences,

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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