Article from today
It starts at home
Suburban companies, residents among those taking initiative to cut energy use
BY MARNI PYKE
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The prognosis on the fate of the earth is not a healthy one.
Melting glaciers. Prolonged drought. Flooding of coastal areas. Rock avalanches. Intense precipitation. Acidic oceans. Declining fish populations. Increased disease and death.
These are some of the existing and future problems projected by hundreds of scientists in a report released last week on global warming by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The group concluded with a high degree of certainty humans are warming up the planet by burning fossil fuels.
It's a warning that's catching the attention of state and federal leaders.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy chiefs outlined a program Tuesday to cut petroleum use by 3.9 billion gallons in 2012 by converting to alternative fuels, such as ethanol.
In Illinois, if pollution levels remain the same, meteorologists anticipate shorter winters, less rainfall in summer, intense heat waves, increased smog, and temperatures rising by 7 to 13 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and 9 to 18 degrees in the summer by the end of the century.
But before you dive into your bunker, take heart.
There's a host of ways to save the planet by reducing energy consumption. Even better, people and businesses in the suburbs are showing the way.
Green buildings
Forty-seven percent. That's how much energy Judson College's new academic center and library in Elgin will use compared to a traditional building.
Set to open next month, the Harm A. Weber Academic Center features a natural ventilation system that sucks in nighttime air to cool the building, uses solar panels to produce electricity and uses natural light.
"It's going to be a regional model for energy efficiency," Judson architecture professor Keelan Kaiser said.
"The spring, summer and fall is when the building will perform at its optimum. The reason it will stay cool is because there's a lot of exposed concrete. When that is cooled overnight it will retain (the coolness) for several hours. Even if it's really warm, the building may not need air-conditioning until late afternoon."
A system will turn on artificial lights only when necessary, taking advantage of sunshine.
"Twenty percent of a building's energy consumption is related to lighting," Kaiser said. "And studies show natural daylight in workspace increases productivity."
Other examples of green structures include Prairie Crossing Charter School in Grayslake and the Lake County Forest Preserve District's new welcome center at the Ryerson Conservation Area.
One feature of the Ryerson center is its geothermal technology, which applies the earth's temperatures for heating and cooling using buried piping. Even though the center's natural gas pipes froze during a cold spell in March, "We were toasty warm," environmental education manager Nan Buckardt said.
"The cost for heating and cooling is a fraction of what it could be."
Green fleets
The DuPage County Forest Preserve District is saving money and the ozone layer by converting its gas-guzzlers to an ecofriendly fleet.
The district aims to run all vehicles on alternative fuels by 2011 and is at more than 75 percent of the goal, Fleet Services Manager John Walton said.
That means using cleaner-burning options such as E-85, a mixture of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol made from corn; natural gas; biodiesel, which comes from soybeans; and liquid propane gas.
"Gasoline's horrible," Walton said. "The pollution is killing people; the exhaust emissions are going to destroy the ozone."
Currently, 107 district vehicles run on alternative fuels.
"We can burn much cleaner fuels in much better ways by using alternative fuels and technologies," Walton said.
Besides fuels that emit less carbon dioxide, the district has hybrid pickups and electric-powered golf carts and utility vehicles. Officials also hope to soon purchase electric all-terrain vehicles for police.
Green industry
Scientists sounding alarms about global warming got a shot in the arm from a surprising source in February: corporate America.
The Global Roundtable on Climate Change, which includes CEOs from such companies as JP Morgan Chase, Google and Ford Motor Co., urged governments to set limits on greenhouse gas emissions.
That attitude is reflected a little closer to home by companies that recently won state pollution prevention awards.
GE Healthcare in Arlington Heights manufactures chemicals for detecting diseases and medical devices to treat cancer.
The business was honored for revising its production schedules to use machines more efficiently, cutting power by more than 900,000 kilowatt hours a year. That equals the annual electric consumption of 40 single-family homes.
"There's a sense of pride, but it's only one step on the way. We identified most of the low-hanging fruit; now the tough thing is to continue striving to reduce waste and emissions," said Jeff Snyder, senior environmental health and safety manager for GE Healthcare.
Abbot Laboratories Inc. also received an award for fixing leaks of compressed air at its plant used to operate equipment.
By making those repairs, the Libertyville Township company, which sells drugs and medical devices, was able to conserve 2 million kilowatt hours a year of energy.
Green congregations
Religious organizations are another force in lobbying for reductions in carbon dioxide emissions by developing "green" congregation strategies.
Diverse groups such as St. Paul Lutheran Church in Villa Park and Fox Valley Presbyterian Church in Geneva will participate in separate rallies Saturday as part of the "Step it Up 2007" effort to persuade Congress to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80 percent in 2050.
Fox Valley Presbyterian layman Linda Sonner got interested in the environment 20 years ago as a result of the infamous garbage barge that traveled from New York City to Belize looking for a site to deposit its load of trash.
She now is coordinator of the church's Healing our Planet Earth task force.
Fox Valley Presbyterian uses low-energy light bulbs and programmable thermostats, and offers parishioners a conservation tip of the month.
Instead of driving to meetings, task force members convene by conference call.
The next step is an energy audit.
"There's always an ongoing project," Sonner said.
St. Paul's is just getting started, but it's committed to the idea of being a steward of God's creation, said parishioner Mary Hershoff, co-chairman of the church's Green Team.
The earth "is not just for our use, but it's entrusted to our care," she said.
Green government
Naperville is providing its residents and businesses with a way to invest in clean energy.
Two years ago, the city offered individuals the chance to purchase electric power from wind, water and solar sources.
Households can pay $5, $10, $15 and $20 more monthly for corresponding amounts of pollution-free electricity. An extra $5 will pay for 200 kilowatt hours while $20 gets 800 kilowatt hours - the equivalent of an average user's energy consumption in Naperville.
The Renewable Energy Program, done in cooperation with Community Energy Inc., a nationwide power supplier, also includes businesses.
So far, 2,800 customers are taking advantage of the program, said Public Utilities Director Allan Poole.
"Renewable energy is clean energy," Poole said. "This is a growing field and it keeps growing."
Green products
Ted Lowe describes himself as "the least consuming human in DuPage County."
The Wheaton resident is the proud owner of an electric small truck, which he charges with juice from the solar panels he installed on his roof.
Lowe paid about $12,000 for the panels but received a $5,000 rebate from the state. The federal government offers tax credits as well, he said.
Using the panels to produce electric power and heat water dropped his energy bills "drastically," Lowe said.
"They do pay themselves off over time. Electric used to be $75 to $80 a month; my highest bill last summer was $25."
If it sounds tempting, Lowe recommends attending one of the workshops offered by the nonprofit Illinois Solar Energy Association, of which he is a member. Information can be obtained at
www.illinoissolar.org or by calling (630) 260-0424.
The association also will recommend solar panel vendors and contractors to help with other energy-saving ideas such as geothermal systems.
"We have lots of visions," Lowe said. "One is that you could open the Yellow Pages and find as many solar energy installers as you do lawyers or dentists."
http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=300307
