Energy Conservation

Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used while achieving a similar outcome. This procedure may result in increase an of financial capital, environmental value, national security, personal security, and human comfort. Individuals and organizations that are direct consumers of energy may want to conserve energy in order to reduce energy costs and promote economic, political and environmental sustainability. Industrial and commercial users may want to increase efficiency and in result, this maximizes their profit.
On a larger scale, energy conservation is an important element of energy policy. In general, energy conservation reduces the energy consumption and energy demand per capita, and in result, offsets the growth in energy supply needed to keep up with population growth. This reduces the rise in energy costs, and can reduce the need for new power plants, and energy imports. The reduced energy demand can provide more flexibility in choosing the most preferred methods of energy production.
By reducing emissions, energy conservation is an important part of lessening climate change. Energy conservation facilitates the replacement of non-renewable resources with renewable energy. Energy conservation is often the most economical solution to energy shortages, and is a more environmentally benign alternative to increased energy production. For example, a form of enery conservation can be simply just recycling. Recycling reuses and renews resources, it also reduces landfill deposition and conserves natural resources.

Whos the largest energy consumer?

The U.S. is currently the largest consumer of energy, at current levels of growth, it is possible that in the future China and India could become the leading energy consumer. The U.S. Department of Energy categorizes national energy use in four broad sectors: transportation, residential, commercial, and industrial. Energy usage in the transportation and residential sectors (about half of U.S. energy consumption) is largely controlled by individual domestic consumers.
For example, Home energy consumption averages:
How to reduce home energy usage
space conditioning, 44%
water heating, 13%
lighting, 12%
refrigeration, 8%
home electronics, 6%
laundry appliances, 5%
kitchen appliances, 4%
other uses, 8%
Energy usage in some homes may vary widely from these averages. For example, milder regions such as the southern U.S. and Pacific coast of the USA need far less energy for space conditioning than New York City or Chicago. On the other hand, air conditioning energy use can be quite high in hot-arid regions (Southwest) and hot-humid zones (Southeast) In milder climates such as San Diego, lighting energy may easily consume up to 40% of total energy. Certain appliances such as a hot tub, or pre-1990 refrigerator use significant amounts of electricity. However, recent trends in home entertainment equipment can make a large difference in household energy use. For instance a 50" LCD television (average on-time= 6 hours a day) may draw 300 Watts less than a similarly sized plasma system. In most residences no single appliance dominates, and any conservation efforts must be directed to a number of areas in order to achieve substantial energy savings. However, Ground and Water Source Heat Pump systems are the more energy efficient, there are environmentally clean, and cost-effective space conditioning systems available (Environmental Protection Agency), and can achieve reductions in energy consumptions of up to 70%!

Governmental improvment

Energy is the vital force powering business, manufacturing, and the transportation of goods and services to serve the American and world economies. Energy supply and demand plays an increasingly vital role in our national security and the economic output of our nation. It is not surprising that the United States spends over 500 billion dollars annually on energy. Increasing energy supplies. As America's need for energy grows, the Department of Energy (DOE) is meeting the challenge by establishing clean fuel initiatives to make the most of traditional fossil fuels while investing in cutting edge research to develop sustainable sources such as fusion and to employ hydrogen (an energy carrier like electricity) which can be produced from diverse, domestic sources and greatly reduce our dependence on imported oil.
On September 30Th, 2005, DOE has announced that the federal government has exceeded its goal for obtaining 2.5% of the electricity needed from the renewable energy sources. (This includes such elements as wind, solar, and biomass.) But now, the governments are using 2375 megawatt hours (G.W.H.) of renewable energy. This is more than 10times more that what they use to use. Why? Because now, most federal governments are using energy from biomass, geothermal, solar and wind to perform projects. They use solar panels, on sight wind projects, and thousands of geothermal ground sources of heat pumps that have been installed. They use this equipment to prevent themselves from using up too much energy. These projects help replace those nonrenewable energy sources so that in the future there would be equal amount of renewable and nonrenewable resources left.

More for the future?

In 1901 Texas wildcatters struck oil near here at a place called Spindletop, setting off the Texas Oil Boom. The Texas Oil Boom helped to build America.People moved across the country in search of a new life where they can develope and achieve their ideas. But these ideas requires a large amount of energy. But as the need for energy has caused oil and gass prices to increase making many people cant afford it and the society would soon corrupt.
In December 10th 2007, Texas has declared an experiment that would expanded the use of oil by opening a new oil well. They claimed that "when this expansion is complete, this facility will be one of the preeminent refineries on the Gulf Coast will become the largest in the United States and one of the largest in the world." We are living in a time where oil supply is increasing its demand. As everyone knows, tight supplies in a time of heightened demand lead to higher prices. These higher prices are an indirect tax on the American family and to prevent this, more oil should be made. Now, investments are being made, in both alternative energy and conventional sources, that will boost supply and reduce prices. The international energy agency concluded that "at home, U.S. energy demand will increase by 23 percent over the same period, with a 19 percent increase in the demand for oil and other liquid fuels." Today is not just an investment in a single refinery, it’s an investment in America’s future prosperity. Likewise, we must seek out new energy sources and new technologies and we must work with Congress, the states and the private sector to establish policies and programs that will make those investments, like this one, even more attractive. We must do all we can to ensure the availability and the affordability of oil and gas in our country. if this fails,it would have a negative impact on the U.S. economy and lead, to a reduction in the quality of life. It took a long time for America to get to this point; the progress we need to make to enhance our energy security through the diversification and creation of new energy supplies, suppliers and supply routes won’t happen overnight. But, as this ground breaking indicates, that effort is starting.

Greatest energy?

The sun is amazing. Without it, none of us would be here, and there would be no life on earth. It takes millions of years for the energy from the center of the sun to reach the sun's surface, and then just eight minutes for it to travel the 93 million miles to earth. The sun gives off more energy in one second than people have used since the beginning of time. It makes food for plants which then create food for the animals and then we eat animals and plants.

For example:

If you are a plant: (sun -> you)
If you are a cow: (sun -> plant -> you)
If you are a wolf: (sun -> plant -> deer -> you)
There are different types of humans, (carnivore, omnivore, vegetarian, and vegan), which eat different things in the food chain:
carnivore (meat only) : (sun -> plant -> animal -> you)
omnivore : [(sun -> plant -> you) + (sun -> plant -> animal -> you)]
vegetarian : [(sun -> plant -> you) + (sun -> plant -> egg/cheese - >you]
vegan (plants only) : (sun -> plant -> you)

Either way, without sunlight, plants couldn't make food, and there would be nothing for us to eat. Not only that, if plants didnt have sunlight, we would have oxygen. The sun produces almost all the heat on this planet, and without it, the earth would be freezing cold.

Without energy?

Without oil, yesterday and today wouldn't be a difference. Schools might be closer than usual, The people you meet would be the same living in one community, and you might have never seen anywhere else. You would probably live in a crowded apartment building in a city because the ability to travel quickly might not be available. Without oil most of the products we use today will be impacted. We might not be able to grow enough corn and soybeans to replace the oil we presently use. If we start making plastics out of soybeans, or corn, to replace oil, we will have even less left over for fuel and food. If we don't have plastics, we can't have computers as we know them. Coal mining would likely be much more extensive than it is today. Your electricity supply might get shut off much more often. Airplane travel might not exist. One of the problems that an airplane must deal with is the ability to carry enough energy with a low enough weight to be able to fly. Coal doesn't work too well for airplanes. Neither does bio diesel or alcohol.

If oil was never pumped, it would still be leaking naturally onto the surface of the earth. Thousands of barrels of oil leak naturally out of the earth, and evaporate chemicals; broken down and returned to the atmosphere.Like In California, billions of cubic feet of natural gas and thousands of barrels of oil seep naturally into the environment, and many of the seeps are believed to be as old as 30 million years. Oil is a natural part of the environment, and is a part of the Earth's carbon cycle that moves in and out of the atmosphere. Almost all of that oil was once in the planet's atmosphere as carbon dioxide, and was simply stored by plants and animals. Oil is truly stored solar energy, combined with a certain amount of geothermal energy that has been stored naturally by the planet.

There are approximately 3 trillion or more barrels of oil in the earth, and at least 1 trillion of those used already. But since the technologies on earth are developing, there are always ways to extract more and more hydrocarbons from the earth. As recovery methods improve, that oil may someday be available. As we learn to utilize things like coal bed methane, oil sands, gas shale, oil shale, and other sources we may begin to add to those 3 trillion barrels.

How has energy usage effect us before?

Cars uses and used vegetable oil and alcohol to run. Without oil, it is likely that the world would have never experienced the population growth. We would probably be riding horses to get around. But then, our country would have a very unpleasant smell. Cheap energy is one of the reason why modern agriculture has became more and more efficient. Thus, if we use the 19th century farming methods, we would likely result in less than half the amount of food we have today.

Most of the industrial revolution may have never taken place, and World War 1, if it even took place, likely would have been won by the Germans. It was because of oil products, in Texas and California, which fueled the Allied Armies of the World War 1 and 2. The US was once the world's largest oil exporter. One of the reasons why the Germans and Japanese lost was lack of fuel and supplies for their military. The US wouldn’t have gained power, as most of the wealth of the US was built on oil when the United States was the major supplier of oil to the world. If railroads were still powered by steam engines and coal and wood, it is likely that the world would be a much dirtier place (the smoke from the steam engine could cause more pollution), and that deforestation would have created climate change much sooner. The railroads were originally given vast tracts of forest land in order to provide fuel for the trains.