Chris Calwell gave a talk on sharply reducing residential greenhouse gas emissions. He discussed how increasing carbon emissions lead to rising CO2 concentrations and global temperatures. It will be expensive and slow to convert energy infrastructure away from CO2 emitting sources. We face a near-term limit on absolute energy consumption. Improving efficiency has had some success but plug loads are soaring. We need to track all factors that drive emissions upward for homes and consumer products like population, acquisitiveness, luxury, usage, carbon intensity, efficiency, manufacturing, and durability. More homes are using solar energy each year but we must go beyond current efficiency standards like ENERGY STAR to achieve deeper reductions.

1. Chris Calwell CCSE Clean Energy Conference San Diego September 16, 2010 Bending the Curve Downward: What Will It Take To Sharply Reduce Residential Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

2. Key Source Material for This Talk www.eceee.org/sufficiency

3. The volume of the atmosphere is fixed. So, increasing annual carbon emissions lead to rising CO 2 concentrations that persist for a century or more. Those, in turn, lead to higher global temperatures, which trigger major environmental impacts It will be expensive and slow to convert our entire energy infrastructure to sources that do not emit CO 2 or find big ways to take it out of the atmosphere. So, we face a near-term limit on absolute energy consumption.

4. The Magnitude of the Climate Challenge Is Sobering and the Lag Times Are Long “ We’re already past 350 -- way past it. The planet has nearly 390 parts per million carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We’re too high. Forget the grandkids – it turns out this was a problem for our parents…” --Bill McKibben

5. We Have Preferred to Focus on the Positive Source: OnEarth Magazine

6. But Flat Per-Capita Electricity Use Doesn’t Help Much if the “Capita” Keep Rising: CA Use Rose by 400% from 1960 to 2005

7. AB32 May Get California Back to Flat by 2020, but an 80% Reduction by 2050 will be Much Harder

8. California’s Electricity Forecast Keeps Rising, But the Rate of Growth Is Slowing

10. California’s Strict Title 24 Requirements Have Ensured that New Homes Are More Energy Efficient than Older Homes. But They Are Still Using More Energy. Why?

11. We Consume More Energy as We Become Wealthier Source: California Energy Commission, California Statewide Residential Appliance Saturation Study , 2004.

12. Nationally, We Have Had Huge Success Improving Lighting, HVAC Systems, Insulation, Windows, Water Heaters, and Appliances, But Plug Loads Are Soaring

13. We Need a Means of Tracking All of the Factors That Drive Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Upward for Homes and Consumer Products

14. What Does IPALUCEMD Mean for Homes? Attribute Generic Units Specific Question for Homes Trend Impact kg CO 2 /year Are residential CO 2 emissions rising? ↑ Population persons How many people do we have? ↑ Acquisitiveness devices/person How prevalent are second homes? Are average household sizes shrinking? ↑ Luxury amenity/device How big is each house and how many upgrades does it have in it? ↑↑ Usage hours/year How often are we home, and how much stuff keeps operating even when we’re not? ↑ Carbon intensity kg CO 2 /unit of energy How much of our electricity and natural gas comes from fossil fuels? ↓ Efficiency amenity/unit of power How many square feet of home space can we operate per watt? ↑ Manufacturing kg CO 2 /device How carbon-intensive is it to build, transport, assemble and ultimately recycle the components of a home? ↑ Durability years How long do our homes last? =

17. 8 separate rectangular structures and rooflines 5600 square feet Reclaimed stone shipped from Chicago 20+ kW of PV to power home and 5 EVs “ Costs 2-5% more than typical homes in this neighborhood, which start at $5 million”

19. ENERGY STAR TV Specifications – First High Profile Application of a Progressive Specification

23. Less Coal Burned in the US in 2009 than in Any Year Since 1995 www.grist.org/article/coal-fired-power-big-loser-in-economic-downturn/

24. US Greenhouse Gas Emissions Dropped Decisively in 2008-2009 Source: http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/environment/emissions/carbon/

25. With Your Help, We Can We Sustain That Progress Even in the Face of More and Bigger Energy-Using Gadgets