Energy Initiative
In Spring 2002, the Center of the American West undertook an Energy Initiative funded by a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
While many concerned groups and individuals have found ways to contribute to current discourse regarding energy development, the Center's Energy Initiative possesses a unique stress on the relationship of past events to contemporary decisions.
We believe history can provide crucial perspective to current dilemmas, reducing the agitation of the moment and turning down the heat on conflicts. Currently both agitated and heated, the topic of energy development offers a prime opportunity to put this assumption to work.
What Every Westerner Should Know About
Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Building on the great success of our first energy report, the Center teamed up with the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) to publish What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation: A Guide to a New Relationship . Lead authors Patty Limerick and Howard Geller (of SWEEP) assembled the most current information on energy efficiency and conservation into an accessible and practical guide for individuals and businesses who want to save energy - and money - this summer and beyond.
The new report - the second in a planned series of three - shows readers that the pursuit of greater energy efficiency and conservation is not only the right decision, it's an easy choice that resonates with our pocketbooks as much as it does with posterity. With good humor and clear-eyed prose, the report examines the West's role as both supplier and consumer of a substantial portion of the nation's energy and explains the potential impact of greater efficiency and conservation practices. Practical recommendations and profiles of exemplary Western citizens and organizations show readers how this awareness can be translated into personal actions that will help their homes and businesses stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and not to mention helping drivers stay away from the gas pump, as they save energy and money.
"Energy efficiency and conservation are critical to economic vitality and quality of life in Colorado and other Western states. I urge policymakers, businesses, and citizens throughout the region to read this report."
- Tom Plant, Director of the Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation for the State of Coloado
"Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. has set an amibitious goal of increasing energy efficiency in Utah 20 percent by 2015. The Center of the American West and SWEEP report will help us to achieve that goal by educating consumers and businesses."
- Dr. Laura Nelson, Energy Advisor to utah Governor Jon Hunstman Jr.
Printed copies of the report are available for purchase at $10 plus shipping from the Center, or you can download a full .pdf version of the report.
Further Readings
What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy
On July 8, 2003, the Center of the American West released, What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy, a report based on findings from our 2002 conference on Western Energy Issues as well as research and consultations with scholars and other professionals in the energy industry. This report is designed to educate Westerners on energy issues, in an interesting and informative manner. Our efforts to make sometimes complex data points understandable to the average Westerner have been rewarded in the wide-ranging popularity. For people from government agencies to environmental groups to the energy industry, the report has served as a useful tool to spark conversations and educate citizens about the West's energy future.
Printed copies of the report are available for purchase at $10 plus shipping from the Center, or you can download a full .pdf version of the report.
