e-FFICIENCY NEWS: January 2005

At the Alliance

Alliance Rings in New Year with New Board Members from Industry, Congress

James DeGraffenreidt, Jr speaking at an Alliance event in 2003

With the start of 2005, five new faces were added to the Alliance Board, and one member was elevated to co-chair. The Board elected Washington Gas CEO James DeGraffenreidt, Jr. to succeed OSRAM SYLVANIA CEO Dean Langford as Alliance Board co-chair. Building on its founding principle of bipartisanship, the Board elected two new Republican vice-chairs. Joining Democratic Vice Chairs Sen. Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), Rep. Ed Markey (Mass.), Independent Sen. James Jeffords (Vt.) and Republican Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) are Republican Reps. Ralph Hall of Texas (top right), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Zach Wamp of Tennessee (bottom right), co-chair of the House Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Caucus.

Also joining the Board are Robert Dixon, global head of energy services and solutions for Siemens Building Technologies, Inc.; Robert Foster, president of Southern California Edison; and Geoffrey Hunt, senior vice president of communications and human resources for OSRAM SYLVANIA. Full Board.

Alliance, AARP Advance Powerful $avings Campaign Message with Seniors on Fixed Incomes

The Alliance has reached out to seniors with the money- and energy-saving message of the Powerful $avings campaign, its partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy. Alliance staff recently taped English and Spanish video news releases (VNRs) for AARP, the organization for people age 50 and over. The VNRs, which TV networks and local stations can use as the basis for news stories, focus on no-cost/low-cost tips for those on fixed incomes, who are particularly squeezed by this winter’s higher heating costs. All of the DOE/Alliance Powerful $avings tips have been translated into Spanish, as the campaign broadened its reach by targeting Spanish-language media. Powerful $avings has already blitzed TV, with more than 900 airings since the campaign began last year.

New Associates

The Alliance welcomes new associates Michelin North America, the Johanette Wallerstein Institute, and Owens Corning as the first new Associates of 2005. These companies join the Alliance’s roster of more than 93 companies, trade associations, state efficiency offices, and others as advocates and proponents of energy efficiency. See who was new in 2004. Keep tabs on new Associates in 2005.

Alliance Associates Talk Energy Management
At Globalcon 2005

The Alliance’s industrial program is hosting an Innovative Energy Management Solutions Panel at the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), March 23-24 Globalcon 2005 industry conference. The panel includes experts in the fields of energy management and finance representing firms that enable plants to establish and sustain energy-saving initiatives. For more information, contact Alliance Director of Industrial Programs Christopher Russell, moderator and panel participant.

2004: Year-end Review

The New Year is a time for reflection, for gathering strength from the past year’s successes and planning for an even more ambitious year to come. The Alliance has compiled a year-end review of its programs and activities. Read it here.

Transportation

Automakers Showcase Fuel Efficiency
At Detroit Auto Show

"Skateboard" chassis of GM's Sequel

Hydrogen, hybrids, and fuel efficiency were in the spotlight at the Detroit Auto show this month. GM unveiled the Sequel, which auto reporters described as a huge advance for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Ford announced that it would release its hybrid Mercury Mariner SUV later this year—12 months ahead of schedule—and Nissan plans to introduce

Production model of the 2007 Hybrid Nissan Altima

hybrid Altima sedans in the U.S. in 2006. Some automakers are eschewing hydrogen and hybrid technology in favor pursuing new developments in diesel technology to drive up fuel efficiency. Diesel engines, for example, are achieving hybrid-level fuel efficiency while new blends of diesel fuel emit less pollution. Highlights from the Auto Show
Washington Post: Automakers Put Hydrogen Power On the Fast Track
EV World: More about the Sequel’s systems and performance
St. Louis Times-Dispatch: Hybrid cars, trucks no longer bring gasps
Christian Science Monitor: That '70s auto show: Fuel economy is back

More Hybrids on the Way, Possibly from CA

Seal of the city of Freemont, CA

Toyota and Honda are looking to double their hybrid sales for 2005, and Toyota is planning to make some of those models on U.S. soil, possibly in California. The two Japanese companies sold some 80,000 hybrids last year and are betting that high gasoline prices, up 19 percent last year, will spur sales of cars that travel up to 55 mpg. Further, Toyota is looking at various U.S. plants as production sites for hybrids. One particular site is Fremont, California’s New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI). NUMMI currently produces cars and trucks for Toyota and GM.

Shoe Company Strives for Smaller ‘Footprint’

Timberland, known for its high-end, rugged boots and shoes, is offering its 6,000 employees a $3,000 incentive to buy a hybrid car, which has a smaller ecological ‘footprint’ than conventional cars. "We are all outdoorsy people who want to preserve the places we like to enjoy," said Betsy Blaisdell, who works on the multinational company’s environmental programs. "It is part of our belief system." Alliance Transportation Director Gail Hendrickson quipped “It’s great to see a shoe company like Timberland ‘walking the talk’ by helping their employees purchase energy efficient transportation options, like hybrids” More.

Have Hybrids Worn Out Their Welcome
In Virginia's HOV Lanes?

Virginia carpool lanes are rarely as empty as shown above.

Allowing single drivers of fuel-efficient hybrid cars to drive in the increasingly crowded HOV lanes has become a headache for carpoolers in Virginia. That state has the highest hybrid car sales, owing, in part, to the HOV lane benefit. Frustrated carpoolers are calling for the program’s end, according to the Washington Post. More; The Hybrid's Free Ride Also: Toyota eyes NUMMI plant for making hybrids in U.S. and Toyota, Honda plan to increase U.S. hybrid sales

Be ‘Cool,’ Save Cash, Get Sample—Take the ColdWater Challenge

Alliance Associate Procter & Gamble, the makers of Tide Coldwater, and the Alliance to Save Energy challenge the nation's consumers to switch to washing clothes in cold water to save both money and energy. In fact, switching to washing in cold water can save up to $63 a year or as much as 692 kwh, or 6.9 million Btus.

Alliance President Kateri Callahan launched the challenge to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, January 18, where she encouraged the nation's mayors to motivate their constituents to take the plunge and sign-up. As part of the consumer education focus of the campaign, the Alliance is offering no-cost/low-cost energy tips.

Do your part and take the ColdWater Challenge to save money and energy. Tide Coldwater will do its part by donating $100,000 to the National Fuel Funds Network (NFFN), an organization that assists state and local groups helping low-income families pay their energy bill.

The majority of the donation from Tide will be divided among selected NFFN members in different regions of the country. These areas qualifying fuel funds will receive a proportion of the donation based on the amount of people in each region that sign-up for the challenge. Check out the challenge at www.coldwaterchallenge.com.

Exclusive e-FFICIENCY NEWS Interview:
David Goldstein

What would you do if you could do anything you wanted and someone paid you six figures to do it? For David Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), that fantasy became a reality when he won a prestigious, coveted MacArthur Fellowship ($500,000/5 years). e-FFICIENCY NEWS interviewed Goldstein to see what he is thinking about, how he is spending his time differently since he won the award in 2003, and what the next few years might hold for him.

e-FFICIENCY NEWS: How has your life changed with this grant -- are you spending your money, time, or attention differently?

David Goldstein: The purpose of the fellowship is to encourage bold and innovative intellectual accomplishments. The money is to allow, for example, people who want to be composing symphonies but are stuck driving a taxi cab to devote their time to what they really are good at. In my case, I have spent the last 25 years doing precisely the kind of work that I wanted to do. I already have had the opportunity to take risks within the field of energy-efficiency advocacy. Where the fellowship has made a difference is encouraging me to look at broader applications of my experience in energy efficiency. I have begun to make presentations on the broader role of energy-efficiency and environmental policy as a way to promote economic development – through encouraging innovation and competition in the economy. This is the theme of a graduate seminar that I taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Energy and Resources Group, last spring and is the subject of a book that I am working on. Full Interview

Regional

New York Power Plants Agree to Slash Coal Emissions

The cut in pollution is equivalent to removing all the diesel trucks in the U.S .plus 2.5 million cars.

The operators of six coal-burning power plants in upstate New York recently agreed to significantly reduce emissions that cause smog and acid rain, a move that will reduce as much pollution from the air equal to removing from the road all the diesel trucks in the U.S. plus 2.5 million cars. The power plants, including the two biggest coal-fired plants in the state and four in the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions, agreed to several measures to make them cleaner, including installing filters, switching to cleaner-burning coal, and shutting some of their oldest and least-efficient units. More

'Baltimore Green Week' Creating
City-Wide Alliance for Sustainability

Image from an ad for Baltimore Green Week.

Baltimore Green Week, April 2-8, is a seven-day symposium to educate city residents, businesses, and political leaders about how sustainable design and development can help revitalize this former 19th century industrial hub, now undergoing a 21st century renaissance. Alliance Executive Vice President Mark Hopkins, who recently moved to the city, is working in collaboration with event organizers—design and construction professionals, scientists, environmentalists, business executives, and average citizens—to promote sustainability through a city-wide dialogue that promotes simultaneous environmental and economic revitalization. Renovating his home to be more energy efficient, Hopkins expressed hope that his "friends in the energy-efficiency community will join me in this partnership to revitalize the Port of Baltimore into a shipyard that lays the keel of our nation’s sustainable future.”

At Home and Work

Plug It In, Plug It In

Get the skinny on Energy Star power adapters.

Imagine a future in which picture phones, iPods, and Powerbooks never need to be charged. Maybe it will happen—but not right now. So why not cut a few bucks off your electricity bill and help Mother Nature at the same time, with newly designed power adapters that use up to one-third less juice? According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there are approximately 1.5 billion chargers in the U.S., or five per American. They are plugged in daily for our cell phones, digital cameras, laptops, and MP3 players, running up an astounding national electric bill of $17 billion a year! The EPA recently announced that it is teaming up with manufacturers to put Energy Star-qualified battery chargers on the shelves so consumers will finally have a choice between energy-guzzling power relics from the past and sleek, environmentally-conscious chargers of the future. So go ahead and plug in. More.

Energy Efficiency: Shot in the Arm
To Pharmaceutical Company

Merck & Co.—which produces pharmaceuticals for everything from high cholesterol to hair loss—sought a way to get more from its facilities without building new ones. Thanks to the efforts of Keith Williams, senior manufacturing head and energy manager for North America, they were able to do just that. Through energy management, they squeezed more productivity out of their existing factories. Want to know how they did it? Read their case study, along with those of other organizations like Alliance Associates 3M, Frito-Lay, and Kimberly Clark. More.

New Publications

Market Penetration High
For Some Energy Star Products

Marketers often say “the proof is in the market share.” A study by Alliance Associate Berkeley National Laboratory, then, is proof that some Energy Star-qualified appliances have been embraced by the public, while others still need incentives. The study revealed that Energy Star-qualified computers, monitors, VCRs, copiers, and cordless phones have all achieved greater than 90 percent market penetration. Languishing at less than 10 percent, though, are ceiling fans and lights, residential roofing, central air conditioners, and residential lighting fixtures. Still, at nearly 4 percent, Energy Star-qualified light fixtures saved enough energy to light 2 millions homes for a year and prevented greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than half a million cars. More.

Graph prepared by Alliance Associate Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for Energy Star. Larger

Two New Web Sites for Green Buildings,
Buildings Codes

The Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) and the World Green Building Council (WGBC) both launched new web sites in January. The revamped BCAP site hosts the most up-to-date information on building codes in the U.S., and the WGBC site focuses on green building issues and information. Check out the new BCAP and WGBC sites.

New Report: States Lead the Way
On Energy-Saving Standards

From light bulbs to ice-makers to “energy vampires,” new state-level appliance energy-efficiency standards could save consumers and businesses billions of dollars, improve electric system reliability, cut pollution, and ease pressure on high energy prices, according to a report released by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP) and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). News Release.