Green Blog
A better web. Better for the environment.
Where does our oil come from?
12/18/08
There’s a great deal of talk about the high cost of oil and the billions of dollars that the US and other oil-importing nations spend each year to buy oil. As part of the
Google.org Geo Challenge Grants Program
,
Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)
has
created a map
of US oil imports by country since 1973. By clicking on the green light to play, you can see the countries supplying oil to the U.S. (either in terms of barrels or dollar value) and how our imports have changed over the last 35 years.The thicker the line in the map, the more oil produced or imported. While this map highlights data on United States oil imports, the picture is similar for every oil-importing country in the world.
The
map
highlights 5 eras of oil consumption, from the oil shocks of the 1970s to the price collapse in the 1980s to recent events including Hurricane Katrina and gas approaching $5 per gallon before retreating rapidly recently. (You can see these selections by clicking on the buttons below the map on the RMI website.) One interesting time period is from 1982 to 1985, when low prices caused oil imports from the Middle East to decline to very low levels.
The map also looks at potential oil from offshore drilling and exploration of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The screenshot below illustrates the impact of off-shore drilling. With the map zoomed or ‘drilled’ 3-5 levels down and centered near Alabama (and the map pushpin that represents offshore), check out the very thin line that shows the potential peak production of 220,000 barrels per day.The lines represent estimates of production in 20-30 years, and even with this very long timeline, the amount of oil that could be generated from offshore drilling is miniscule compared to our oil needs today.
Both Google and RMI are working hard to help create a future where we are not reliant on daily imports of millions of barrels of oil that pollute our atmosphere and risk our national security.
Today, along with the Brookings Institution, RMI is hosting “
The Oil Solutions Initiative
” a summit to identify solutions to break America’s dependence on oil, with Google in attendance. In 2004, RMI’s Chief Scientist, Chairman and Co-founder Amory Lovins and a team of RMI collaborators drafted Winning the Oil Endgame (
PDF of the book
) - a roadmap for the United States to get completely off oil by 2050.
Google.org’s
RechargeIT initiative
is driving toward the commercialization of plug-in vehicles that can wean the US off gasoline. In our
Clean Energy 2030 Plan
we show that increasing conventional automobile mileage, deploying millions of plug-in hybrids and accelerating the turnover of the fleet would reduce oil consumption by 51% by 2030. That decrease would have an even larger effect on oil imports because we produce about one-third of our oil in the US. Google and RMI have worked together on a number of projects including RMI’s
Smart Garage
Charrette
, a summit to identify the barriers and breakthroughs needed to electrify the U.S. auto fleet.
While oil prices have declined rapidly over the past five months, most people expect oil prices to remain high into the near future. When asked whether or not the drop in oil prices reduces the need to act, President-Elect Barack Obama
responded
that we go from “shock to trance” and as a result “never make any progress.”
If you are a non-profit with a great idea like this one, please consider
applying
for
funding
to develop your project. We are currently accepting applications for the December 22, 2008 deadline.
Posted by David Bercovich, Program Manager, Google.org
Eric Schmidt speaks about solutions for energy security
11/24/08
Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke last Thursday at a Natural Resources Defense Council event held at Google offices in New York. The topic for the evening was "Partnership for the Earth: Strategies and Solutions for Energy Security." Eric spoke about Google's
Clean Energy 2030 plan
and the importance of rebuilding America's energy infrastructure.
The speech was followed by a panel discussion featuring Frances Beinecke, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council, Ralph Cavanaugh, co-director of NRDC's energy program, and Dan Reicher, Director of Climate Change and Energy Initiatives at Google.org.
You can check out the talk here:
Posted by Jamie Yood, Google.org Team
Moving quickly to rebuild the economy through clean energy
11/20/08
With a new President and Congress, we have an unprecedented opportunity to transform our fossil fuel economy to one based largely on clean energy, while creating millions of jobs in the process.
Last month, we offered a
Clean Energy 2030
proposal for how the U.S. can dramatically scale up renewable energy, become smarter about how we use energy, and deploy millions of plug-in electric cars. Our energy team has continued crunching the numbers and just posted new data on job creation and cost savings on our
knol
. We'll keep updating the information and encourage everyone to take a look and comment - and offer alternative approaches if you disagree.
Reaching the goals of Clean Energy 2030 will require a comprehensive effort by the new President and Congress. At a minimum, we believe it should include putting a price on carbon emissions, setting national energy efficiency and renewable energy goals, and modernizing our electricity grid. With the right policies, we can drive trillions of dollars of new investment in clean energy and create millions of new jobs.
Stimulating the economy and creating jobs will be the first item of business when the new President and Congress take office in January. We hope that clean energy will be front and center. In its last effort to address the financial crisis, Congress passed several
measures to advance clean energy
, but much more needs to be done. Here are some ideas on how to advance clean energy as part of a stimulus package:
Get money flowing to renewable energy.
Many wind and solar project developers can’t take advantage of the renewable tax credits that were just extended. The continuing economic decline has wiped out profits in many companies - and the otherwise expected tax liability that credits offset. Congress should make changes, such as making the credits refundable, to make it possible for investors to get the value Congress intended.
Start building a smarter electricity grid.
The last large
energy bill
passed in 2007 authorized, but did not fund, matching grants and demonstration programs to encourage investment in a "smart" electricity grid. These programs should be fully funded and expanded so more consumers have the opportunity to better monitor and control their electricity use and reduce their bills. A new
Department of Energy
(DOE) sponsored
book
explaining smart grid describes it as "the internet brought to our electric system."
Help people make their homes more efficient.
The DOE has a
Weatherization Assistance Program
that enables low-income families to permanently reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient. On average, weatherization reduces households' heating bills by about 30%. President-elect Obama adopted our proposal to weatherize one million low income homes per year for the next 10 years. Current federal weatherization funding supports barely 10% of that number. A roughly $3 billion appropriation would weatherize roughly one million homes.
Green the Government.
The U.S. government is the largest consumer of electricity. Accordingly, federal departments and agencies should lead by example when it comes to stimulating the economy through expanded energy efficiency efforts and increased use of clean energy. In addition, the Congress and the President can provide support to State and local governments for efficiency and smart grid projects; the purchase of renewable power; and converting vehicle fleets to low-emission vehicles, particularly plug-in electric cars and trucks. Such concerted government action will speed the advent of a new era of energy security and domestic job creation.
We need quick action to jumpstart the economy and improve energy security. If you have ideas to share, join the discussion on the
Clean Energy 2030 knol
.
Posted by Michael Terrell, Program Manager, Google.org and Harry Wingo, Policy Counsel, Google
Is your house haunted by high energy prices?
10/21/08
Halloween is nearly upon us; the days are getting shorter and Google is gearing up for one of our favorite holidays. But as the temperature drops, the price you pay each month to power your home might start to make your blood run cold. Fear not! We've created a handy
energy saving calculator
to help you see how simple steps can help you save money for treats -- and ward off scary carbon emissions. We've also put together a
webpage full of tricks
to help you save energy -- and money. (For inspiration for this idea, we want to thank the U.S. Department of Energy.)
It's the perfect time of year to talk about efficiency since many of the energy-wasters in our homes are named after the ghouls of Halloween. Our living rooms may be infested with "vampire" electronics that suck power even when turned off. And open chimney flues let the "ghosts" of winter steal our heat (not to mention the "monster" furnace that lives in the basement). By taking small steps to ward off these ghouls of inefficiency, you can save cold, hard cash. By
one estimate
, if the 80% of Americans who leave their fireplace flue open all winter all simply closed the damper, we could save over $6 billion a year. That's a lot of candy corn!
Posted by David Bercovich, Project Manager, and Dan Reicher, Director Climate Change & Energy Initiatives, Google.org
Supporting U.S.-Chinese renewable energy collaboration
10/20/08
Google.org has given the
U.S. National Academies
a grant for $250,000 to develop recommendations for U.S.-Chinese cooperation on renewable electricity. The 18-month study is being funded in collaboration with other U.S. sponsors and the Chinese Academies of Sciences and Engineering.
The study has three goals:
Assess the resource potential in China and the U.S. for grid-scale electricity generation
Explore near-term market opportunities for mature technologies
Recommend priorities for enhanced collaboration, with a focus on cost reduction, improved efficiency and grid connectivity, and storage
The study will help national governments, their relevant agencies/ministries, and private industries assign priorities for meaningful cooperation in developing and utilizing electricity from renewable energy.
By focusing on grid-scale electricity generation, the study will give special attention to three major resources: wind, solar, and biomass. It will also consider technologies with longer time horizons, such as
enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)
. It will build on a current U.S. National Academies study, which is assessing the technology risks and tradeoffs for various energy technologies. An understanding of the geographic, technical, and economic constraints will help guide Chinese decision makers to develop appropriate strategies to sustainably meet their energy needs. China’s manufacturing prowess, combined with its growing domestic market, provide opportunities to accelerate progress and reduce costs for renewable energy technologies.
The U.S. and China represent the world's two largest consumers of energy. Getting renewable electricity right for both countries will be a significant step to decelerating global climate change.
Posted by Jeffrey Greenblatt, Climate and Energy Technology Manager, Google.org
Eric Schmidt discusses Clean Energy 2030
10/3/08
Watch Google's Chairman and CEO discuss our
recent proposal
for reducing U.S. dependence on fossil fuels:
You can read the full plan
here
.
Posted by Katy Bacon, Google.org Team
Clean Energy 2030
10/1/08
(Cross-posted from the
Official Google Blog
)
Right now the U.S. has a very real opportunity to transform our economy from one running on fossil fuels to one largely based on clean energy. We are developing the technologies and know-how to accomplish this. We can build whole new industries and create millions of new jobs. We can reduce energy costs, both at the gas pump and at home. We can improve our national security. And we can put a big dent in climate change. With strong leadership we could be moving forward on an aggressive but realistic timeline and an approach that balances costs with real economic gains.
The energy team at Google has been crunching the numbers to see how we could greatly reduce fossil fuel use by 2030.
Our analysis
, led by Jeffery Greenblatt, suggests a potential path to weaning the U.S. off of coal and oil for electricity generation by 2030 (with some remaining use of natural gas as well as nuclear), and cutting oil use for cars by 40%. Al Gore has
issued a challenge
that is even more ambitious, getting us to carbon-free electricity even sooner. We hope the American public pushes our leaders to embrace it. T. Boone Pickens has weighed in with an interesting
plan
of his own to massively deploy wind energy, among other things. Other plans have also been developed in recent years that merit attention.
Our goal in presenting this first iteration of the
Clean Energy 2030 proposal
is to stimulate debate and we invite you to take a look and comment - or offer an alternative approach if you disagree. With a new Administration and Congress - and multiple energy-related imperatives - this is an opportune, perhaps unprecedented, moment to move from plan to action.
Over 22 years this plan could generate billions of dollars in savings and help create millions of green jobs. Many of these high quality, good-paying jobs will be in today's coal and oil producing states.
To get there we need immediate action on three fronts:
(1) Reduce demand by doing more with less
We should start with the low-hanging fruit by reducing energy demand through energy efficiency -- adopting technologies and practices that allow us to do more with less. At Google, we've seen the benefits of this approach. We identified $5M in building efficiency investments with a 2.5 year payback. We've also
designed our own data centers to run more efficiently
, and we believe they are the most efficient in the world. On a smaller scale, personal computers can also become much more efficient. A typical desktop PC wastes nearly half the power it consumes. Last year, Bill Weihl, our Green Energy Czar, worked with industry partners to create the
Climate Savers Computing Initiative
to raise energy efficiency standards for personal computers and servers. If we meet our goals, these standards will cut energy consumption by the equivalent of 10-20 coal-fired power plants by 2010.
Government can have a big impact on achieving greater efficiency. California's aggressive building codes, efficiency standards and utility programs have helped the state keep per-capita energy use flat for years, while consumption in much of the rest of the country has grown significantly. Enacting similar policies at the national level would help even more.
We also need to give the American people opportunities to be more efficient. The way we buy electricity today is like going to a store without seeing prices: we pick what we want, and receive an unintelligible bill at the end of the month. When homes are equipped with smart meters and real-time pricing, research shows that energy use typically drops. Google is looking at ways that we can use our information technology and our reach to help increase awareness and bring better, real-time information to consumers.
(2) Develop renewable energy that is cheaper than coal (RE<C)
Google’s data centers draw from a U.S. electricity grid that relies on coal for 50% of its power. We want to help catalyze the development of renewable energy that is price competitive with coal. At least three technologies show tremendous promise: wind, solar thermal, and advanced geothermal. Each of these is abundant and, when combined, could supply energy in virtually every region of the U.S.
This year
Google has invested
over $45 million in startup companies with breakthrough wind, solar and geothermal technologies through our Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal (
RE<C
) initiative, but that is a drop when we need a flood. We need to unleash massive private investment in clean energy. The government can have a big impact here as well. We must dramatically increase federal R&D and enact measures supporting the rapid deployment and scaling of clean technologies such as long-term tax support and a national renewable energy standard. Tax credits for wind and solar have lapsed several times in the last 20 years, starving these nascent industries of the capital they need to truly enter the mainstream.
We also must work both sides of the
RE<C
equation. Progress will be accelerated when the price of carbon reflects its true costs to society. Putting a price on carbon through cap-and-trade or a carbon tax would help address this.
(3) Electrify transportation and re-invent our electric grid
Imagine driving a car that uses no gas and is less expensive to recharge than buying a latte. A "smart grid" allows you to charge when electricity is cheap, and maybe even make some money by selling unused power back to the grid when it's needed. Plug-in cars are on their way, with GM, Toyota and other manufacturers planning introductions in the next two years. At Google we have a small fleet of Toyota Prius and Ford Escape plug-in conversions, as a part of our RechargeIT program. The converted Prius plug-ins get over 90 MPG, and the Escapes close to 50 MPG. However to successfully put millions of plug-in cars on the road and and fuel them with green electricity, we need a smart grid that manages when we charge and how we're billed. A smart grid could also provide for the two-way flow of electricity, as well as large-scale integration of intermittent solar and wind energy. Much of the technology in our current electrical grid was developed in the 60s and is wasteful and not very smart. We are
partnering with GE
to help accelerate the development of the smart grid and support building new transmission lines to harness our nation's vast renewable energy resources.
We see a huge opportunity for the nation to confront our energy challenges. In the process we will stimulate investment, create jobs, empower consumers and, by the way, help address climate change.
Posted by Dan Reicher, Director, Climate Change and Energy Initiatives, and Jeffery Greenblatt, Climate and Energy Technology Manager, Google.org
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