"Mining Our Homes, Workplaces, and Vehicles for Energy Savings"
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release: April 2007 For Further Information Contact: The Center of the American West
Mining Our Homes, Workplaces, and Vehicles for Energy Savings What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation
(Boulder, CO) - What is the cleanest, least risky, and most economical source of energy? Wind? Solar? In fact, the most promising energy source of all is the energy saved by cutting waste and increasing efficiency, and thus made available for other uses. This is the central claim of What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation: A Guide to a New Relationship, a new report jointly prepared by the Center of the American West and the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP). The report addresses consumers, voters, businesspeople, and policy makers who are concerned about rising energy costs as well as the broader impacts of energy use on our economy, security, and environment.
"Energy efficiency and conservation are critical to economic vitality and quality of life in Colorado and other Western states," says Tom Plant, Director of the Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation for the State of Colorado. "I urge policymakers, businesses, and citizens throughout the region to read this report."
What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation sets forward, in clear and lively prose, what both individuals and organizations in the West can do to save energy. "Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. has set an ambitious goal of increasing energy efficiency in Utah 20% by 2015. The Center of the American West and SWEEP report will help us to achieve that goal by educating consumers and businesses," commented Dr. Laura Nelson, Energy Advisor to Governor Jon Huntsman Jr.
What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation provides information on:
- How Westerners use energy now
- The enormous benefits of greater energy efficiency and conservation
- Practical recommendations for saving energy
- Profiles of exemplary Western citizens, businesses, and governmental entities
- The barriers to greater energy efficiency and how to overcome them
- What governments and utilities can do to promote greater energy efficiency
"Energy efficiency and conservation are underappreciated but enormously valuable resources," noted Patty Limerick, Chair of the Board of the Center of the American West and a lead author of the report. "They are appealing whether one is motivated by reason, pride, or pleasure, or any combination of the three."
"By disseminating this report, we hope more Westerners will commit themselves to greater energy efficiency and conservation individually and professionally," stated Howard Geller, Executive Director of SWEEP and a lead author of the report.
A copy of What Every Westerner Should Know About Energy Efficiency and Conservation is available electronically at www.centerwest.org or www.swenergy.org/pubs/. Printed copies are available from the Center of the American West.
About the Center of the American West: The Center of the American West, at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is one of the region's most innovative organizations in identifying and addressing such crucial issues as multiculturalism, community building, fire policy, and land, water, and energy use. To learn more, visit www.centerwest.org.
About SWEEP: The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) is a public interest organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. To learn more, visit www.swenergy.org.