Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout: The Making of a Sensible Environmentalist (53 page)

I said at the beginning of the book that each of these issues could fill more than 20 books. Energy is no exception, so I will end this chapter simply by saying, “Buy a smaller, more fuel-efficient car, take mass transit when convenient, insulate your home, and put in a geothermal heat pump.”

[1]
. International Energy Agency, “World Energy Outlook 2009 Fact Sheet: Why Is our Current Energy Pathway Unsustainable?” http://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/docs/weo2009/fact_sheets_WEO_2009.pdf

[2]
. Estimates vary as to the amount of noncommercial energy produced globally. The International Energy Agency estimates that biomass accounts for 11 percent of the world’s total energy supply, mostly the burning of wood, crop residues, and other combustible biomass.

[3]
. International Energy Agency, “Share of Total Primary Energy Supply in 2007,” 2009,

http://www.iea.org/textbase/stats/pdf_graphs/29TPESPI.pdf

[4]
. The term
geothermal
is confusing because the same term is used to describe two entirely different energy sources. One type of geothermal is based on near-surface volcanic activity, where the high temperatures are used to make steam to drive electrical turbines. This type of geothermal energy is very localized and is used in California, Italy, Iceland, and New Zealand. The other type of geothermal energy, called geothermal heat pumps, uses the stored solar energy in the soil, lakes, or oceans to heat and cool buildings. This type of geothermal, also referred to as geoexchange, or simply geo, is universal and can be tapped under or alongside any building anywhere on Earth.

[5]
. James Lovelock, “Nuclear Power Is the Only Green Solution,” the
Independent
, May 24, 2004,

https://secure.hosting.vt.edu/www.choicesandchallenges.sts.vt.edu/2007/docs/Lovelock%202004.pdf

[6]
. Stewart Brand, “Environmental Heresies,”
Technology Review
, May 2005

[7]
. Amanda Griscom Little, “Green vs. Green,”
Wired
Magazine, February 2005, http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.02/nuclear.html?pg=5

[8]
. Anna Momigliano, “Russian Gas Cutoff Energizes Nuclear Comeback,”
Christian Science Monitor
, January 16, 2009,

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2009/0116/p06s01-wogn.html

[9]
. Steve Conner, “Nuclear Power? Yes Please….,”
Independent
, February 23, 2009,

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/nuclearpower-yes-please-1629327.html

[10]
. On the Issues, “Barack Obama on Energy and Oil,” http://www.ontheissues.org/Celeb/Barack_Obama_Energy_+_Oil.htm

[11]
. The half-life of a radioactive element (isotope) is the time it takes for half of the element to decay. Ten half-lives are sufficient to effectively eliminate the element, transforming it into either another radioactive element or a stable element that is not radioactive.

[12]
. Henning Wicht, “Europe Could Gain by Switching to Solar Power,”
iSuppli
, February 23, 2009,

http://www.isuppli.com/Photovoltaics/MarketWatch/Pages/Desire-to-Become-Energy-Independent-and-Lower-Emissions-Has-Translated-into-Global-Leadership.aspx

[13]
. Liu Angi, “China to Pay 70 percent Subsidy for Solar Power,” CCTV, July 23, 2009,

http://www.cctv.com/program/bizchina/20090723/111018.shtml

[14]
. “Rooftop Solar Power in the UK - Real World Data,” March 10, 2009,

http://lightbucket.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/rooftop-solar-powerin-the-uk–real-world-data/

[15]
. Paul Gipe, “Renewables Without Limits,” Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, August 29, 2007,

http://www.cpfund.ca/pdf/updating-ontarios-standard-offer-program.pdf

[16]
. “Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff Program,” Ontario Power Authority, 2010,

http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/Page.asp?PageID=122&ContentID=10543&SiteNodeID=1103&BL_ExpandID=260

[17]
. David Erlich, “Who’s Lining Up for California’s Feed-in Tariff?” Cleantech Group, February 20, 2008,

http://cleantech.com/news/2483/whos-lining-up-for-californias-feed-in-tariffs

[18]
. “U.S. Electric Industry Net Generation,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, January 21, 2010,

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/figes1.html

[19]
. Lawrence Solomon, “Nightfall on the Solar Industry,”
Financial Post
, June 17, 2010,

http://opinion.financialpost.com/2010/06/17/lawrence-solomon-nightfall-on-the-solar-industry/

[20]
. “Solar Bubble Bursts in Spain Amid Subsidy Cuts, Fraud Allegations,”
Climate Wire
, May 6, 2010,

http://www.windaction.org/news/27146

[21]
. Jeremy van Loon, “German Clean-Power Boom ‘Breaks’ System, Ex-Lobbyist Tells Handelsblatt,” June 21, 2010,

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-21/german-clean-power-boom-breaks-system-ex-lobbyist-tells-handelsblatt.html

[22]
. Glenn Schleede, “The True Cost of Electricity from Wind Is Always Underestimated and Its Value Is Always Overestimated,” February 4, 2010, http://www.scribd.com/doc/26394311/Glenn-Schleede-1-High-Cost-Low-Value-of-Electricity-From-Wind

[23]
. “China: Electricity,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, July 2009, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/China/Electricity.html

[24]
. “Hydroelectricity,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectricity#Countries_with_the_most_hydro-electric_capacity

[25]
. “List of Countries by GDP (PPP) per Capita,” Wikipedia,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita

[26]
. “Heat Pump,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_pump

[27]
. “What Is a Ground Source Heat Pump?” International Ground Source Heat Pump Association,

http://www.igshpa.okstate.edu/geothermal/geothermal.htm

[28]
. “CGC Quality Training Commitment,” Canadian GeoExchange Coalition,

http://www.geoexchange.ca/en/cgc_quality_training_commitment_p35.php

[29]
. “Certified GeoExchange Designer Course,” International Ground Source Heat Pump Association,

http://www.igshpa.okstate.edu/training/cgd.htm

[30]
. “Nuclear Power by Country,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_by_country

[31]
. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Atoms for Peace,” December 8, 1953, http://www.iaea.org/About/history_speech.html

[32]
. “Backgrounder on the Three Mile Island Accident,” U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, April 7, 2009, http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html

[33]
. Wm. Robert Johnson, “Chernobyl Reactor Accident, 1986,” June 11, 2006, http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/nuclear/radevents/1986USSR1.html

[34]
. “Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Accident, Detection and Monitoring,” Answers.com, http://www.answers.com/topic/chernobyl-nuclear-power-plant-accident-detection-and-monitoring

[35]
. “Chernobyl Death Toll Grossly Underestimated,” Greenpeace International, April 18, 2006, http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/chernobyl-deaths-180406

[36]
. “Chernobyl - Appendices: Positive Void Coefficient,” World Nuclear Association, March 2001, http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/chernobyl/voidcoef.htm

[37]
. “Chernobyl Forum,” International Atomic Energy Agency, February 3, 2003, http://www-ns.iaea.org/meetings/rw-summaries/chernobyl_forum.htm

[38]
. “Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident,” World Heath Organization, 2006, www.who.int/ionizing_radiation/chernobyl/en/

[39]
. “Nuclear Power in the United States,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_the_United_States#Worker_safety

[40]
. “Safety Indicators Show U.S. Nuclear Industry Sustained Near-Record Levels of Excellence in ‘07,” Nuclear Energy Institute, April 14, 2008, http://www.nei.org/newsandevents/newsreleases/safetyindicators/

[41]
. Geoffrey R. Howe, Lydia B. Zablotska, Jack J. Fix, John Egel, and Jeff Buchana, “Analysis of the Mortality Experience Amongst U.S. Nuclear Power Industry Workers After Chronic Low-Dose Exposure to Ionizing Radiation,”
Radiation Research
162 (November 2004): 517-526.

[42]
. Zbigniew Jaworowski, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., “The Truth About Chernobyl Is Told,”
21
^st
Century Science and Technology Magazine
, Winter 2000-2001, http://www.21stcenturysciencetech.com/articles/chernobyl.html

[43]
. “Confirmed Death Toll in Dam Disaster Rises to 69,” AFP, July 23, 2009, http://www.france24.com/en/20090823-sayano-shushenskaya-russia-siberia-hydroelectric-plant-accident-death-toll-69

[44]
. Edmund H. Mahony and Eric Gershon, “Five Killed in Connecticut Power Plant Blast,”
Los Angeles Times
, February 8, 2010, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/08/nation/la-na-conn-blast8-2010feb08

[45]
. Howard Berkes, “Massey, Federal Officials Investigated In Mine Blast,” National Public Radio, April 30, 2010, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126422117

[46]
. Patrick Jonsson, “C’mon, How Big Is the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Really?”
Christian Science Monitor
, May 1, 2010, http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0501/C-mon-how-big-is-the-Gulf-of-Mexico-oil-spill-really

[47]
. “Tooth Fairy Project,” Radiation and Public Health Project, http://www.radiation.org/projects/tooth_fairy.html

[48]
. L.A. Andryushin, N.P. Voloshin, R.I. Ilkaev, A.M. Matushchenko, L.D. Ryabev, V.G. Strukov, A.K. Chernyshev, and Yu.A. Yudin, “Catalog of Worldwide Nuclear Testing,” Begell House, July 18, 1999, http://www.iss.niiit.ru/ksenia/catal_nt/4.htm#Table8

[49]
. “History of Nuclear Weapons Testing,” Greenpeace International, April 1996, http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/nukes/ctbt/read9.html