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As Jon Stewart reminded us in a bitterly funny shtick a couple of months ago, every U.S. President since Nixon has bemoaned our addiction to oil and promised to wean the nation ASAP.  But what about our addiction to coal?

On the environmental scorecard, coal sets new lows for mountaintop removal, air and water pollution and climate change.  The pollution that pours out of the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants causes an estimated $62 billion in public health damage a year (mostly heart and respiratory illnesses).

What coal has going for it is its price–compared to oil, gas and renewables, coal is cheap.  Or is it?  A new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that many states import coal from faraway states and foreign shores.  38 states are net importers of coal, spending $25 billion a year with nothing to show for it–these states burn money on coal which is then burned to generate electricity; in the end, they have nothing–no jobs, no revenue, no local energy infrastructure, just polluted air and soaring unemployment.

Most of the coal we import comes from Colombia, Venezuela and Indonesia, not exactly next-door neighbors.  Even our own domestic coal travels longs distances from mines to power plants.  Georgia, for example, buys $540 million worth of coal from Wyoming and Colorado (plus another $97 million from Colombia).

Coal-importing states have much to gain by shifting their expenditures from coal to energy efficiency and renewables.  Energy conservation and local energy production mean local jobs and revenue, better air quality and resilience in the face of an uncertain energy future.  I’m tempted to call such a shift a “no-brainer,” but it seems that “no-brainers” are usually “non-starters” politically (my favorite example being our refusal to lower the speed limit to 55 mph for optimal fuel efficiency and highway safety).

As a nation, we have a lot of unhealthy and supposedly cheap addictions (bad food, bad fuel, fast cars). But when we pause to factor in the hidden costs of these habits, they’re not so cheap after all.  And our economy, our waistlines and our planet cannot afford to indulge them any longer.

–Erica Etelson

Have you been lying in bed at night wondering where your electricity comes from?  Just in case, NPR developed this incredibly informative interactive map showing the location and energy source of all electricity in the United States.

Some points of interest on the map:  Look at the areas with the largest solar capacity, then click over to the areas that are the windiest–I was blown away (sorry) by the lack of overlap which, just to clarify, is a good thing because it means there’s a renewable source of electricity for everyone.  In some areas, like Northern California, we’re doubly blessed with high winds and big solar gain, yet wind and solar together comprise less than 3% of our total mix.

NPR also points out that, in the areas that are best for solar, one measly square foot can generate 260 kilowatt-hours a year (enough to power an Energy Star dishwasher for a year).  We have a moratorium on new nuclear plants in California and are going to lose hydroelectric capacity as the snow pack disappears.  Since utilities finally seem to grasp what most of learned in third grade about the finite nature of fossil fuels, the development of a massive renewable energy infrastructure is inevitable.  No time like the present.

–Erica Etelson

Sitting in the office of a solar company, I hear words such as volts, watts, kilowatts and kilowatt-hours tossed about with abandon. With my non-technical background it sounds like what I imagine a European must hear when Americans discuss a baseball game – it’s certainly a little confusing. To combat this confusion I compiled some questions I have such as, where does our energy come from, and where does it go? As well as, how is it measured? With these questions in mind I did some research so that you readers wouldn’t have to. My plan is to spend the next couple of posts addressing these issues.

This first post is going to cover some pretty big picture stuff.

According to the US Energy Information Administration electricity in the United States is generated by the following sources:

48% Coal

21% Natural Gas

20% Nuclear

9% Renewables

1% Petroleum

The energy in the United States doesn’t go solely to powering our homes. In fact, it’s a pretty inefficient system. (source, The Idiot’s Guide to Solar Power for Your Home):

25% goes for transportation

20% is used by industry

12% is for homes and businesses

AND 40% of energy in the US goes to making electricity

According to the Department of Energy, in the average home which spends about $1200 a year on their utilities, energy use can be broken down in the following way:

43% goes to heating and cooling

29% goes to lighting, cooking and appliances

12% goes to water heating

8% goes to refrigeration

8% other

These are just some interesting facts to mull over. Keep your eyes open from some more in the next few days.