Do You Know How to Save the Planet?

Location: New York
Author: Patty Walton
Date: Monday, June 9, 2008
 

. . . Neither do I! As a utility industry analyst and an energy professional, I am struck by how little knowledge I have about the basic facts of conservation and energy efficiency. When non-energy industry friends know more than me about energy conservation it is embarrassing. I know how to accurately bill the most complex energy deals anyone can dream up, but I don't know how to save usage on household appliances I use every day. Many of the clients we work with, including the readers of UtiliPoint's IssueAlert articles, probably feel the same way. We are consumed with operations cost, gaining efficiency, optimizing systems, appeasing regulators, and process improvement projects. We can quote our billing accuracy but don't know how much power we use in our offices to create the bills.

There's a new commercial running nationwide with Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Pat Robertson sitting on a loveseat on the beach together, encouraging us all to get involved with programs to save the planet from climate change. I decided if these two polar opposites can take time away from politics and saving souls to address this subject, I could take a few minutes to educate myself. The following quiz was put together with information sitting by my side every day while I work. It is my UtiliPoint Personal Energy Guide which dedicates the first 19 pages to educational material, and the back to a writing tablet. Instead of flipping directly to a clean page for notes, I decided to read the 19 pages.

In an era where energy awareness and conservation is becoming an imperative, the energy quiz below should help bring you up to speed on energy fascinating facts. Take the quiz in good faith, don't use the internet to look up answers and don't peak at the answers at the bottom. Send an e-mail to editor@utilipoint.com if you get them all correct!

  1. How much more oil does the average American use annually than the other citizens of the world?
    1. 335%
    2. 587%
    3. 767%
    4. 922%
  2. How much oil is in reserve around the world?
    1. 1.27 trillion barrels
    2. 2.45 trillion barrels
    3. 3.78 trillion barrels
    4. 5.59 trillion barrels
  3. Which appliance uses more kw per year?
    1. Conventional washer
    2. Microwave oven
    3. Conventional dishwasher
    4. Range/oven
  4. Which home entertainment unit uses more kw per year?
    1. Color TV
    2. Computer
    3. Plasma TV
    4. Gaming unit
  5. Which energy saving change has the biggest payback (not considering the initial cost)?
    1. Insulating the attic
    2. Insulating the walls
    3. Insulating the heated basement
    4. All have the same payback

Match the following renewable energy sources to its (partial) definition:

  1. Biomass
  2. Hydrogen
  3. Hydropower
  4. Ocean mechanical energy
  5. Solar
  6. Wind
  7. Geothermal
  1. Facilities processing this energy source in the United States can generate enough power to supply 28 million households with electricity, equivalent of nearly 500 million barrels of oil. It is the largest source of renewable power, generating nearly 10% of the electricity used in the United States.
  2. A part of the process to harness this renewable energy is knocking electrons loose from their atoms, allowing the electrons to flow through material to produce electricity.
  3. High above ground turbines use a lift and drag method to spin a rotor like a propeller, and the turning shaft spins a generator to make electricity.
  4. This energy source has been used to create heat for thousands of years. Types of this source include wood, plants, residue from agriculture or forestry, and the organic component of municipal and industrial waste. This source is used to produce fuels, chemicals and power.
  5. Resources of this energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the earth's surface and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.
  6. This is the most plentiful element in the universe, but doesn't occur naturally as a gas on earth and is always combined with other elements. This energy source produces almost no pollution when burned purely by itself.
  7. We can thank the gravitational pull of the moon for driving waves, which can then by directed by a dam to convert tidal energy into electricity by forcing the water through turbines, activating a generator.

Match the source with the percent it represents of the energy use in the United States:

  1. Coal
  2. Renewable
  3. Nuclear
  4. Natural Gas
  5. Petroleum
  1. 23%
  2. 39%
  3. 22%
  4. 8%
  5. 7%
  1. Compact fluorescent light bulbs rather than incandescent bulbs use what percent less energy and lasts how much longer?
    1. 30% less energy and lasts 5 times longer
    2. 25% less energy and lasts 10 times longer
    3. 20% less energy and lasts 7 times longer
    4. 35% less energy and lasts 15 times longer
  2. An average American family opens their refrigerator and freezer doors how many times per day?
    1. 9
    2. 18
    3. 22
    4. 30
  3. The ultimate renewable energy source, horsepower, is a unit for measuring the rate of work (or power) equivalent to 33,000 foot-pounds per minute, or how many watts?
    1. 254
    2. 376
    3. 592
    4. 746

SPOILER ALERT: Answers below!

  • The answer to #1 is c—Americans use 767% more the world's other citizens. Americans use on average 23 barrels of oil per year compared to other citizens using on average 3 barrels.
  • The answer to #2 is a—1.27 trillion barrels in reserve around the world. With an estimated 53 billion barrels discovered each year, the entire world reserves will be gone in 44.6 years at our current consumption rate.
  • The answer to #3 is d—the range/oven uses 1,460 kw per year. A convention dishwasher uses 615, microwave oven uses 525, and a conventional dishwasher uses 439.
  • The answer to #4 is c—the Plasma TV uses 820 kw per year. A color TV uses 660, a computer uses 576, and a gaming unit uses only 72. Game on!
  • The answer to #5 is b—insulating the walls provides a payback of $150 to $840 for saving on heating and cooling bills. Insulating the attic saves $166 to $426, insulating the floor saves $76 to $600, and insulating the heated basement saves $100 to $600. Technically, on the low end of savings A could also be correct.
  • The answers to 6-12 are: 6) d, 7) f, 8) a, 9) g, 10) a, 11) b, 12) e
  • The answers to 13 to 17 are: 13) c, 14) e, 15) d, 16) a, 17) b
  • The answer to 18 is b—by switching you can use 25% less energy and last 10 times longer with compact fluorescent light bulbs.
  • The answer to 19 is c—22 times! This is an easy one to reduce and it might also help us lose weight.
  • The answer to 20 is d—746 watts in one unit of horsepower. Giddy-up!

Energy efficiency (reducing energy by replacing equipment with technical advances), conservation (using less energy), and using renewable energy are all important to a focus on saving our planet. But we must educate ourselves. I hope you did well on the quiz and we all consider doing our part in reducing the human footprint on the planet. Remember, even Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Pat Robertson (organized by Al Gore) agree on this one!

UtiliPoint's IssueAlert(SM) articles are compiled based on the independent analysis of UtiliPoint consultants. The opinions expressed in UtiliPoint's IssueAlert articles are not intended to predict financial performance of companies discussed, or to be the basis for investment decisions of any kind. UtiliPoint's sole purpose in publishing its IssueAlert articles is to offer an independent perspective regarding the key events occurring in the energy industry, based on its long-standing reputation as an expert on energy issues. © 2004, UtiliPoint International, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, redisseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of UtiliPoint International, Inc.